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LANDSCAPE 
GARDENING 


Other  Books  by  the  Same  Author 


PLUMS  AND  PLUM  CULTURE 

FRUIT  HARVESTING.  STORING.  MARKETING 

SYSTEMATIC  POMOLOGY 

DWARF  FRUIT  TREES 

THE  LANDSCAPE  BEAUTIFUL 

THE  AMERICAN  APPLE  ORCHARD 

BEGINNER'S  GUIDE  TO  FRUIT  GROWING 


LANDSCAPE 

GARDENING 


TREATISE  ON  THE  GENERAL 
PRINCIPLES  GOVERNING  OUT- 
DOOR ART;  WITH  SUNDRY 
SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THEIR  AP- 
PLICATION IN  THE  COMMONER 
PROBLEMS  OF  GARDENING 


By  F.  A.  WAUGH 

Professor  of  Landscape  Gardening,   Massachusetts 
Agricultural  College 


Second  Edition — R  evis  ed 

ILL U  STRA TED 


NEW    YORK 

ORANGE   JUD13  COMPAXY 

1  9  1  r» 


Copyright   1899-1912 

BY 

ORANGE    JUDD    COMPANY 


Frinied  in  U.   S.  a. 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION 

This  little  book  is  elementary  in  at  least  three 
senses :  First,  it  deals  simply  with  the  simplest 
things,  in  a  manner  likely  to  help  beginners ;  second, 
it  presents  the  fundamental  principles  of  land- 
scape art;  third,  it  represents  the  convictions  of  a 
young  beginner  in  the  field.  As  I  look  back  now 
upon  the  pages  printed  thirteen  years  ago  I  am 
almost  as  much  surprised  at  the  assurance  of  the 
author  as  at  the  kind  reception  which  he  has  had 
from  the  public.  Indeed,  as  I  am  able  to  detach 
myself  measurably  from  the  person  who  wrote  the 
first  edition  of  this  book,  I  rather  envy  him  the 
courage  of  his  convictions  and  his  freedom  from 
disturbing  doubts. 

Thus,  the  time  being  now  come  when  the  pub- 
lishers must  have  a  new  edition,  I  am  wholly  dis- 
posed to  let  the  sayings  of  the  young  man  stand 
substantially  as  first  printed,  revising  only  where 
necessary  to  correct  obvious  errors.  I  am  hoping 
that  the  opportunity  will  come  some  day  for  the 
older  man,  this  author's  successor,  to  have  his  say 
also  on  the  larger  aspects  of  American  landscape 
architecture. 

Meanwhile  the  main  purposes  and  plans  of  the 
book  have  been  fully  justified  by  thirteen  years'  ex- 
perience. Many  excellent  teachers  have  used  it  as  a 
text-book,  and  many  amiable  persons  have  read  the 
book  with  apparent  satisfaction.  The  plan  of  put- 
ting before  beginners  general  and  fundamental  prin- 
ciples rather  than  details  of  empirical  practice  has 
been  almost  universally  approved.  It  still  remains 
true,  as  it  was  urged  in  the  first  edition,  that  "a  bet- 

68923 


Vlll  PREFACE 

ter  appreciation  of  the  fundamental  principles  which 
govern  in  picture  making,  outdoors  on  the  lawn,  or 
indoors  on  the  canvas,  is  what  the  practical  gardener 
of  today  most  needs.  As  we  go  about  from  year  to 
year,  studying  parks,  cemeteries  and  residence  sites 
in  all  parts  of  the  country,  we  find  that  ninety-nine 
out  of  every  hundred  failures  are  to  be  traced  to  the 
evident  fact  that  the  gardener  did  not  understand 
the  composition  as  a  whole,  and  not  to  any  lack  of 
his  skill  in  carrying  out  the  details.  The  average 
gardener  needs  no  instruction  in  laying  out  flower 
beds,  in  mowing  lawns,  nor  in  caring  for  shrubbery; 
but  he  does  need,  very  much,  a  better  appreciation  of 
the  demands  of  unity,  variety,  character,  propriety 
and  finish." 

F.  A.  WAUGH. 

Massachusetts  Agricultural  College, 
Amherst,  Mass.,  March  i,  igi2. 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS 


Page 

Part  I. — Introductory. 

The  Art  and  the  Artist,  Chapter  I.  3 

Part  II. — The  Artistic  Qualities  of  Landscape  Composition 
A.     Unity,  Chapter  II,  11 

a.  The  Natural  Style,  Chapter  III,  15 
i.     Naturalness  is  gained  by: 

1.  Open  lawns. 

2.  Curved  lines. 

3.  Grouped  trees. 

4.  Use  of  shrubs. 

5.  Union  of  buildings  with  grounds, 
ii.     Naturalness  is  lost  by: 

1.  Straight  lines. 

2.  Artificial  constructions. 

3.  Especially  by  bad  fences. 

4.  White  surfaces. 

5.  Badly  treated  plants. 

b.  The  Architectural  Style,  Chapter  IV.  27 
Unity  in  the  architectural  style  is  gained  by : 

1.  Proper  geometrical  lines. 

2.  Closely  shaven  lawns. 

3.  Trees  in  rows. 

4.  Clipped  trees  and  shrubs ;  topiary  work. 

5.  Architectural  and  statuesque  features. 

6.  Sharp  color  contrasts  or  monotones. 

7.  Terraces. 

8.  Congruous  water  pieces. 

9.  Flowers  in  beds  or  pots. 

c.  The  Picturesque  Style,  Chapter  V,  41 

Unity  in  the  picturesque  style  is  gained  by : 

1.  Odd  plant  forms. 

2.  Uneven  surfaces. 

3.  Dark  color  masses. 

ix 


LANDSCAPE   GARDENING 

Page 


B. 


4. 

Broken  ground. 

5. 

Scattering  grouping  in  middle-ground. 

Variety, 

Chapter  VI,                46 

a. 

In 

surface. 

1. 

Plane. 

2. 

Convex. 

3. 

Concave. 

4. 

Broken  ground. 

5. 

Sloping  ground. 

6. 

Water. 

b. 

In 

form,  is  gained  by : 

1. 

Curved  drives  and  walks. 

2. 

Partial  concealment  of  principal  objects. 

3. 

Diversity   in    design    and    aspect   of    artificial 
features. 

4. 

Long  perspectives. 

5. 

Diversified  sky  line. 

c. 

In 

materials. 

d. 

In  color. 

e. 

In 

texture. 

f. 

In 

season. 

1. 

Spring  greens. 

2 

June  effects. 

3. 

Midsummer  sun  and  shade. 

4. 

Autumn  colors. 

5. 

Winter  views. 

g.     In  composition. 

1.  Specimens. 

2.  Groups, 
h.     In  position. 

1.  Background. 

2.  Middle-ground. 

3.  Foreground. 

4.  Exterior  views. 

C.  Character,  Chapter  VII,  64 

Simplicity.  Complexity,  Dignity,  Boldness,  etc. 

D.  Propriety,  (Page  64) 

E.  Finish,  Chapter  VIII,  68 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS  XI 

Page 

Finish  demands : 

1.  Perfect  specimens. 

2.  Good  care. 

3.  Cleanliness. 

4.  (Objectively)   Good  atmosphere  and  light. 

Part  III. — General   Problems. 

A.  Entrances,  Drives  and  Walks,  Chapter  IX,  73 

B.  The  Planting  of  Streets  and  Avenues,      Chapter  X,  78 

C.  Water  and  Its  Treatment,  Chapter  XI,  83 

D.  The  City  or  Suburban  Lot.  Chapter  XII,  90 

E.  The  Ornamentation  of  Farm  Yards.  Chapter  XIII,  95 

F.  The  Amelioration  of  School  Grounds,  Chapter  XIV,  99 

G.  Something  About  Public  Parks,  Chapter  XV,  101 

Part  IV. — The  Gardener's  Materials. 


A.    A  Select  List  of  Trees, 

Chapter  XVI, 

109 

B.    The  Best  Shrubs, 

Chapter  XVII, 

115 

C.     Hardy  Perennials, 

Chapter  XVIII, 

125 

D.     The  Indispensable  Annuals, 

Chapter  XIX, 

131 

E.    A  Few  Bulbous  Plants, 

Chapter  XX, 

138 

F.     Climbers, 

Chapter  XXI, 

143 

Appendix. 

Some  Books  on  Land.scape  Garden  -" 

-:. 

147 

LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


FiK.  Page 
Frontispiece 

1.  Sketch  from  Franklin  Park,  Boston 5 

2.  Good  subtropical  effect 10 

3.  Naturalistic  drive  and  planting 16 

4.  Naturalistic  use  of  shrubbery  18 

5.  Natural  and  beautiful  development  of  shrubbery 19 

6.  A  graceful  curved  drive,  with  well-massed  plantings     22 

7.  The  architectural  style  at  Versailles--- 28 

8.  Formal  rose  garden  and  pool 30 

9.  Fine  formal  effect  in  public  grounds 33 

10.  The  architectural  style  at  its  best 37 

11.  Downing's  idea  of  picturesqueness 42 

12.  Picturesque  pine  trees 43 

13.  Picturesque  Japanese  gardening 44 

14.  The  beauty  of  the  winter  trees 49 

15.  Good  skyline  produced  by  proper  grouping 51 

16.  Differences  of  texture  in  foliage  of  trees 54 

17.  The  snow  on  the  trees 58 

18.  Good  background,  good  skyHne  and  good  water  effect     61 

19.  Street  entrance 74 

20.  Simple  formal  park  entrance 75 

21.  Diverging  drives 76 

22.  A  well-planted  street 80 

23.  An  effective  water  treatment 84 

24.  The  water  mirror 86 

25.  A  formal  pool  with  plantings 88 

26.  A  secluded,  pleasant  home  garden 92 

27.  Suggestion  for  a  farmyard 97 

28.  Belle  Island  Park,  Detroit 104 

29.  The  American  elder 119 

30.  The  use  of  shrubs 120 

31.  Suggestion  for  border  planting 126 

32.  Phlox  and  Funkia 129 

33.  Shirley  poppies  in  the  garden  border 132 

34.  The  spring  show  of  tulips 140 

35.  Japanese  irises  at  home 142 


PART  I. 


Introductory. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    ART    AND    THE    ARTIST. 

"If  now  we  ask  when  and  where  we  need  the  Fine  Art  of 
Gardening,  must  not  the  answer  be,  whenever  and  wherever 
we  touch  the  surface  of  the  ground  and  the  plants  it  bears 
with  the  wish  to  produce  an  organized  result  that  shall  please 
the  eye?  The  name  we  usually  apply  to  it  must  not  mislead 
us  into  thinking  that  this  art  is  needed  only  for  the  creation  of 
broad  'landscape'  effects.  It  is  needed  wherever  we  do  more 
than  grow  plants  for  the  money  we  may  save  or  gain  by  them. 
It  does  not  matter  whether  we  have  in  mind  a  great  park  or  a 
small  city  square,  a  large  estate  or  a  modest  dooryard,  we  must 
go  about  our  work  in  an  artistic  spirit  if  we  want  a  good  result. 
Two  trees  and  six  shrubs,  a  scrap  of  lawn  and  a  dozen  flower- 
ing plants,  may  form  either  a  beautiful  little  picture  or  a  hud- 
dled disarray  of  forms   and  colors." 

Mrs.    Van   Rensselaer. 

Landscape  gardening  is  eminently  a  fine  art.  The 
enumeration  of  painting,  sculpture  and  architecture 
as  the  fine  arts  is  seriously  deficient,  and  yet  it  has  a 
wide  currency.  That  is  a  fine  art  which  attempts  to 
create  organized  beauty — to  unite  several  dissimilar 
parts  in  one  harmonic  whole.  In  this  respect  land- 
scape art  stands  on  a  level  with  the  other  fine  arts. 
In  some  other  respects  it  even  surpasses  them. 

Landscape  gardening  is  much  the  best  known 
term  in  America  for  the  subject  which  we  have  now 
in  hand.  Landscape  art  is  an  equally  correct  term, 
but  it  does  not  seem  to  bring  so  clear  a  suggestion  to 
most  minds.  Landscape  architecture  is  much 
spoken  of  in  France,  but  it  is  unsatisfactory  in 
English  usage.  In  former  times  the  simple  word 
''gardening"  was  in  general  use  in  England  to  desig- 
nate this  art,  especially  that  style  of  gardening 
practice  known  as  the  natural,  or  English,  method. 

D,   H.   KILL^LIERARY 

North  C<x-ro\l-^:i  State  College 


4  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING 

This  would  Still  be  the  most  convenient  word  if  we 
could  dissociate  it  from  the  growing  of  cabbages 
and  parsnips;  but  that  seems  impossible  with  us 
now. 

The  chief  objections  to  the  term  ''landscape  gar- 
dening," are  that  it  is  too  long  and  has  too  large  a 
sound.  By  its  very  look  and  sonorousness  it  seems 
to  suggest  princely  and  magnificent  undertakings  of 
parks,  villas  and  hunting  grounds,  and  to  overshoot 
entirely  those  small  domestic  concerns  around 
which  the  most  of  our  life  and  interest  center.  This 
is  the  difficulty  we  would  overcome  if  we  could  get 
back  our  older  and  plainer  word,  "gardening."  But 
landscape  gardening  does,  nevertheless,  bring  itself 
to  the  consideration  of  these  lowlier  problems;  and 
it  is  for  the  sake  of  such  smaller  cares  that  we  need 
most  to  study  its  principles.  All  persons  ought  to 
endeavor  to  understand  the  methods  and  aims  of 
landscape  art,  as  they  endeavor  to  master  the  alpha- 
bet of  literature.  Good  taste  in  gardening  will  yield 
its  possessor  as  much  pleasure  as  good  taste  in 
architecture,  literature  or  music.  And  just  as  one 
may  cultivate  good  taste  in  literature  without  de- 
signing to  become  a  litterateur,  so  one  may  properly 
educate  his  taste  for  landscape  gardening  with  no 
expectation  of  becoming  a  landscape  gardener. 

Gardening  art  offers  this  advantage  to  its  lovers : 
That  they  can  everywhere  enjoy  it,  and  that  with 
comparatively  small  expense  they  can  patronize  it 
on  their  own  account.  The  poor  washerwoman  who 
has  hardly  time  to  look  at  the  statue  of  George 
Washington  in  the  city  park,  and  scarce  money 
enough  to  buy  a  chromo,  is  quite  able  to  grow 
geraniums  in  her  windows  and  to  have  a  pretty  bed 
of  marigolds  and  phloxes  in  the  yard.  The  oppor- 
tunities to  cultivate  a  taste  for  this  sort  of  landscape 
art  lie  all  about  us,  while  to  only  a  few  comes  the 


THE   ART   AND   THE   ARTIST 


6  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

freedom  of  art  galleries  and  exhibitions.  Cheap 
and  simple  materials  may  be  combined  to  give  an 
excellent  effect. 

''Landscape  gardener,"  ''landscape  architect," 
"landscape  artist,"  ''gardener,"  have  their  obvious 
relation  to  the  terms  already  considered.  What- 
ever he  may  be  called,  the  practitioner  of  the  art  is 
an  artist.  He  may  be  a  good  artist,  or  a  poor  one. 
He  would  face  the  same  possibility  if  he  were  a 
painter.  It  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  term  "land- 
scape gardener"  is  much  the  best  one  for  American 
use  in  all  connections  where  simple  "gardener" 
would  be  of  doubtful  intention.  The  affectation  of 
the  title  "landscape  architect"  by  those  profession- 
ally engaged  in  the  art  seems  to  be  gaining  ground, 
but  it  is  surely  unfortunate.  In  subsequent  chapters 
we  will  distinguish  two  great  schools  of  this  fine 
art,  and  will  endeavor  to  justify  the  names  of  "natu- 
ral style"  and  "architectural  style"  for  them.  If 
the  professional  artists  of  the  former  school  would 
call  themselves  landscape  gardeners,  and  those  of 
the  latter  inclination  would  assume  the  title  of  land- 
scape architects,  we  should  have  a  consistent  and 
useful  terminology.  The  fact  is,  however,  that  some 
of  the  Americans  who  call  themselves  landscape 
architects  are  the  warmest  partisans  of  the  natural 
style. 

We  have  already  tried  to  distinguish  between  the 
landscape  artist  and  the  layman  who  has  a  trained 
and  sympathetic  understanding  of  the  artist's  work. 
The  layman  possessed  of  good  artistic  taste  and  a 
proper  horticultural  knowledge  can  doubtless  pro- 
duce many  beautiful  and  satisfactory  things  in  his 
own  yard;  and  such  lay  artists  are  sorely  needed. 
But  for  real  creative  work  of  any  magnitude  the 
born  and  trained  artist  is  required.  Genius  like  that 
of  Raphael,  or  Turner,  is  more  of  a  natural  endow- 


THE    ART    AND    THE    ARTIST  7 

ment  than  an  education.  Genius  like  that  of  Fred- 
erick Law  Olmsted  is  of  the  same  order.  In  the  few 
following  pages  the  only  attempt  is  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  taste  of  the  layman.  There  are  many 
things  which  he  ought  to  understand,  and  to  that 
end  a  systematic  classification  of  principles  and  a 
somewhat  didactic  treatment  of  details  may  be  ex- 
cused. 

The  order  and  relative  importance  of  the  several 
principles  may  be  understood  most  easily  by  a  study 
of  the  analytical  outline.  It  is  conceived  that  unity, 
variety,  character,  propriety  and  finish  are  the  funda- 
mental characteristics  of  any  landscape, — that  these 
qualities  are  ultimate  and  coordinate,  though  by  no 
means  equally  important.  Each  work  of  landscape 
art  is  to  be  tested  separately  for  each  of  these  quali- 
ties. The  following  pages  explain  in  order  how 
these  tests  are  to  be  variously  satisfied. 


PART  II. 


The  Artistic  Qualities  of  Landscape 
Composition 


CHAPTER  II. 

UNITY. 

Every  yard  should  be  a  picture.  That  is,  the  area  should 
be  set  off  from  every  other  area,  and  it  should  have  such  a  char- 
acter that  the  observer  catches  its  entire  effect  and  purpose 
without  stopping  to  analyze  its  parts.  The  yard  should  be  one 
thing,  one  area,  with  every  feature  contributing  its  part  to  one 
strong  and  homogeneous  effect.     L.  H.  Bailey. 

Pictorial  composition  may  be  defined  as  the  proportionate 
arranging  and  unifying  of  the  different  features  and  objects  of 
a  picture.  .  .  .  There  must  be  an  exercise  of  judgment  on 
the  part  of  the  artist  as  to  fitness  and  position,  as  to  harmony 
of  relation,  proportion,  color,  light;  and  there  must  be  a  skilful 
uniting  of  all  the  parts  into  one  perfect  whole. 

John  C.  Van  Dyke. 

Unity  and  coherence  are  not  quite  synonymous, 
yet  the  ideas  are  very  closely  related,  and  in  any 
extensive  composition  are  practically  inseparable. 
Thus  a  number  of  objects  of  exactly  the  same  sort 
placed  together  would  undoubtedly  secure  unity 
without  any  effort  for  coherence ;  but  several  dis- 
similar objects  may  also  be  assembled  in  satisfying 
unity  if,  by  some  obvious  relation  or  natural  con- 
nection, they  readily  cohere. 

Unity  in  any  landscape  composition  means  that 
some  one  idea  shall  prevail  throughout,  and  that  all 
details  shall  be  subordinate  to  it.  Some  particular 
style  of  expression  must  be  determined  upon  and 
consistently  adhered  to;  and  the  chosen  style  must 
not  be  varied  except  within  wide  limits  of  space. 
Every  item  of  the  composition,  then,  must  con- 
tribute to  the  perfection  of  the  predominant  style, 
or  must  be  vigorously  expurged,  no  matter  what  its 
individual  excellence. 

Unity  is  not  to  be  realized  unless  the  entire  con- 
struction is  under  control  of  one  mind,  and  this  one 

11 


12  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

directing  mind  must  not  only  have  a  perfectly  clear 
and  definite  conception  of  what  the  finished  product 
is  to  be,  but  must  also  be  attached  to  that  ideal  with 
such  zealous  unalterableness  that  no  item,  how- 
ever desirable  by  itself,  shall  be  admitted  if  not  in 
strictest  harmony  with  the  pervading  spirit  of  the 
work.  Practically  this  means  that  a  definite  plan 
must  be  made  on  paper.  The  unrecorded  ideal,  even 
of  the  artist  whose  conceptions  are  clearest,  is  sure 
to  change  in  time ;  and  since  it  must  always  require 
a  considerable  season  to  compass  any  landscape 
plans,  the  first  keynote  is  likely  to  have  been  lost 
before  the  end  is  reached,  and  the  later  additions 
are  apt  to  be  out  of  harmony  with  the  earlier  work. 
The  plan  should  be  drawn  with  good  inks  on  the 
most  durable  paper;  and  it  should  be  supplemented 
by  written  specifications  made  equally  durable.  In 
both  plans  and  specifications  too  great  care  cannot 
be  taken,  nor  too  deep  a  study  made  of  the  whole 
and  of  each  of  its  parts ;  for,  as  has  already  been 
pointed  out,  it  is  fatal  to  leave  latitude  for  alteration 
in  case  some  part  proves  to  have  been  ill-considered. 
These  plans  and  specifications,  too,  cannot  descend 
too  deeply  into  the  minutiae  of  the  composition ;  for 
an  unsympathetic  treatment  of  the  smallest  items 
may  mar  irreparably  the  grandest  conception.  Mis- 
take is  common  at  this  point.  Many  people,  even 
landscape  gardeners,  seem  to  think  that  if  the  gen- 
eral outlines  of  the  plan  are  determined  by  a  mas- 
ter artist,  the  construction  and  all  minor  matters 
may  be  left  to  the  plantsman,  the  florist,  or  the  man- 
of-all-work.  Plans  and  specifications  are  not  too  ex- 
plicit if  they  locate  every  lilac  bush  and  spiraea  and 
clump  of  columbine,  and  if  they  demand  that  the 
lilac  shall  be  a  Fran  Dammann,  the  spiraea  a  primifo- 
lia,  and  the  columbine  of  the  variety  Skinneri. 

It  IS  no  controversion  of  this  statement  to  say, — 


UNITY.  13 

what  is  the  undeniable  fact, — that  the  best  consid- 
ered plans  will  not  always  work  out  with  exactness 
upon  the  ground.  It  is  indeed  true  that  there  are 
always  arising,  in  the  construction,  exigencies  which 
require  this  addition,  that  omission,  or  an  entire 
change.  It  becomes,  then,  all  the  more  important 
that,  in  all  things  where  it  is  at  all  possible,  a  pre- 
determined scheme  shall  be  followed.  The  ideas  of 
the  author,  conscientiously  worked  out  in  some 
parts,  give  a  definite  suggestion  for  the  concordant 
treatment  of  other  parts  to  which  his  foresight  could 
not  have  extended.  Nor  is  it  a  sufficient  excuse 
for  changing  any  detail  of  a  plan  that  some  other 
item  seems  at  the  time  to  be  better  than  the  one 
originally  proposed,  even  though  it  be  to  introduce 
some  new  and  beautiful  plant  not  known  to  the 
artist.  Only  a  few  of  these  changes  are  required  to 
alter  conspicuously  the  original  idea,  and  possibly 
to  destroy  forever  the  unity  of  its  expression. 

Even  in  the  smallest  compositions,  such  as  the 
planting  of  a  town  lot  or  the  ornamentation  of  a 
cemetery  block,  a  definite  and  explicit  plan  should 
be  decided  upon  at  the  outset ;  it  should  be  reduced 
in  full  to  paper,  and  should  ever  after  be  unswerv- 
ingly followed. 

There  are  two  great  styles  of  landscape  gardening, 
— the  natural  and  the  architectural.  The  former  is 
sometimes  called  the  English  style,  from  the  cir- 
cumstance that  it  received  its  first  great  develop- 
ment at  the  hands  of  the  English  gardeners ;  and  the 
latter  is  often  known  as  the  Italian  style,  from  hav- 
ing been  brought  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection  by 
Italian  artists.  It  is  quite  possible  to  conceive  of 
other  legitimate  styles,  and  room  is  accordingly 
made  for  a  method  of  treatment  not  seldom  em- 
ployed, called  here  the  picturesque  style.  This  is 
neither  "natural,"  in  the  sense  of  belonging  to  the 


14  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

English  school,  nor  in  the  least  architectural.  It  is 
not  commonly  spoken  of  as  a  distinct  style ;  yet  it 
seems  better  to  treat  it  here  as  such,  and  to  point 
out  that  there  may  be  other  distinctive  styles  adopted 
in  special  cases,  though  none  has  yet  become  suffi- 
ciently prominent  to  be  named  and  classified. 

These  several  styles  are,  to  a  great  degree, 
mutually  exclusive.  It  is  not  simply  that  a  land- 
scape gardener  is  likely  to  be  a  partisan  of  one  of 
the  great  schools, — though  that  is  true, — but  the 
different  styles,  especially  the  natural  and  the  archi- 
tectural, are  utterly  diverse  in  their  objects  and 
their  methods,  so  that  w^hen  brought  together  they 
produce  nothing  but  discord.  Within  v^ide  space 
limits  tw^o  styles  may  be  used,  but  it  requires  a  mas- 
ter hand  to  effect  a  coherence  along  the  line  of 
junction.  Those  v^ho  remember  the  Wooded  Is- 
land and  the  Court  of  Honor  in  the  World's  Fair 
grounds  at  Chicago,  have  in  mind  an  excellent  illus- 
tration of  this.  Even  here  the  English  was  not 
mixed  w^ith  the  Italian  style;  but  the  two  were 
separated  as  widely  as  the  room  permitted.  One 
has  only  to  imagine  the  architectonic  and  sculp- 
turesque features  of  the  Court  transferred  to  the 
midst  of  the  Island  to  feel  at  once  what  a  raging 
discord  would  have  resulted.  In  the  broadest  terms, 
then,  it  is  correct  to  prescribe  that  some  one  style 
must  be  chosen  and  consistently  followed  through- 
out the  development  of  any  landscape  plan.  This 
is  the  first  step  toward  securing  unity. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE    NATURAL    STYLE. 


In  the  English  landscape  garden  one  sees  and  feels  every- 
where the  spirit  of  nature,  only  softened  and  refined  by  art. 
In  the  French  or  Italian  garden  one  sees  and  feels  only  the 
effect  of  art,  slightly  assisted  by  nature.  A.  J.  Downing. 

The  natural  style  is  unquestionably  the  favorite  in 
England  and  America,  and  probably  only  less  so  in 
France  and  Germany.  This  means  not  alone  that  the 
landscape  gardeners  of  these  countries  practice  it  in 
preference  to  other  styles,  but  also  that  the  laity, 
composed  of  people  who  only  feel  and  do  not  think, 
have  a  profound  bias  toward  the  natural  style.  To 
be  sure,  these  people  admire  pattern  beds  in  the 
parks,  and  they  put  into  their  own  dooryards  the 
most  distastefully  unnatural  objects  conceivable ; 
but  this  is  due  to  their  ignorance  of  the  value  of 
unity  and  their  pure  inability  to  grasp  the  real  mo- 
tive of  a  harmonious  composition.  In  general  they 
have  a  much  greater,  though  unthinking,  attach- 
ment to  noble  trees,  pretty  shrubberies,  green  lawns 
and  cool  shadows,  or  to  a  pleasant  combination  of 
all  these  elements. 

GAINING   NATURALNESS. 

A  few  simple  rules  will  help  to  gain  this  natural- 
ness, which  is  lost  oftener  by  thoughtlessness  than 
by  intention.  Perhaps  it  is  not  strictly  correct  to 
say  that  naturalness  is  gained.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
when  a  house  is  built  or  a  park  laid  out  naturalness 
is  lost  to  some  extent.  But  by  thoughtful  work  we 
may  subtract  greatly  from  the  artificiality  of  the 
construction,  and  in  that  sense  it  is  true  that  natu- 
ralness is  gained. 

15 


i6 


LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 


THE    NATURAL    STYLE.  1 7 

Open  lawns  are  the  natural  foundation  of  a  natural 
landscape.  They  should  be  as  large  and  as  little 
interrupted  as  circumstances  will  allow.  Speaking 
in  a  very  general  way,  and  with  room  for  exceptions, 
it  is  good  practice  to  devote  all  the  center  and  in- 
terior of  any  landscape  piece  to  open  lawn.  The 
plantings  of  trees  and  shrubs  should,  in  a  general 
way,  be  confined  to  the  boundaries.  Buildings 
should  be  located  toward  one  side.  And  most  cer- 
tainly should  the  drives  and  walks  never  cut  through 
the  middle  of  the  grounds  if  a  natural,  rural  effect  is 
to  be  preserved.  These  lawns  may  be  kept  clipped, 
or  the  grass  may  be  allowed  to  grow  at  its  own 
will;  but  clipped  lawns  have  a  distinct  suggestion  of 
artificiality,  and  the  clipping  should  be  confined  to 
the  vicinity  of  buildings  or  other  positions  where 
smooth  surfaces  and  straight  lines  are  already  in 
evidence.  The  unmowed  lawn  is  suitable  for  larger 
pieces  and  for  more  emphatically  natural  surround- 
ings. The  lawn  should  cover  a  comparatively  large 
area.  One  would  not  want  the  furniture  in  the  par- 
lor to  take  up  three-fourths  of  the  room ;  much  less 
would  one  want  the  green  carpet  of  the  lawn  nearly 
covered  with  such  furniture  as  trees  and  flower  beds. 

Curved  lines  are  usually  natural,  but  not  necessa- 
rily so.  They  may  be  grotesque  and  artificial  to 
almost  any  degree,  but  it  requires  an  effort  to  make 
them  so.  Straight  lines  are  specifically  unnatural. 
Nature  works  only  in  curves.  The  planets  move  in 
curves,  the  smallest  leaflet  is  bounded  by  curves, 
and  your  sweetheart's  face  has  not  the  faintest  sug- 
gestion of  a  straight  line.  You  will  with  great  difli- 
culty  find  a  straight  line  in  nature.  Inasmuch  as  the 
grounds  on  which  the  landscape  gardener  works 
often  exist  chiefly  for  some  utilitarian  purpose,  many 
strictly  non-natural  features  must  be  introduced, 
and  in  many  cases  the  naturalness  of  the  curved 


l8  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

line  must  be  abandoned  for  the  usefulness  of  the 
straight.  This  is  sometimes  true  of  walks  and 
drives,  which  are  usually  the  most  conspicuous  lines 
on  the  grounds ;  yet  the  general  rule  must  still  be 
adhered  to, — that  the  drives  and  walks  should  be  curved 
unless  there  is  some  good  reason  to  the  contrary. 

But  it  is  not  enough  that  the  drives  should  be 
curved.  There  are  good  curves  and  bad  ones,  and 
if  a  curve  is  to  be  used  more  thought  and  skill  are 


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Fig.  4.  NATURALISTIC  USE  OF  SHRUBBERY. 

required  to  save  it  from  defect  than  though  a 
straight  line  had  been  chosen  instead.  In  an  earlier 
day  the  imitators  of  the  English  style,— not  the 
legitimate  practitioners, — in  their  enthusiasm  for 
curved  lines  laid  many  which  were  unpleasing  to  the 
last  degree.  The  unmethodical,  senseless,  meander- 
ing, serpentine  walks  which  one  still  sees  some- 
times are  not  natural,  nor  are  they  artistic  in  any 
sense.  It  is  commonly  said  that  every  curve  in  a 
drive  or  a  walk  should  have  an  apparent  justifica- 


THE    NATURAL   STYLE. 


19 


tion.  Thus,  if  a  considerable  hill  or  a  group  of 
trees  lies  within  the  bend  it  seems  to  furnish  an 
adequate  excuse  for  the  curve.  Objects  which  are 
not  manifestly  of  sufficient  importance  to  demand  a 
turn  in  the  drive  are  palpably  artificial  and  worse 
than  useless.  Thus,  a  flower  bed  in  the  curve  of  a 
drive  fills  the  wayfarer  with  nothing  but  disgust; 
for  he  sees  that  it  might  just  as  well  have  been  put 
somewhere  else  and  his  way  shortened  by  straight- 


FlG.  5.     NATURAL  AND  BEAUTIFUL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SHRUBBERY. 

ening  out  the  motiveless  digression.  For  any  mod- 
erate distance  a  double  curve,  passing  first  to  one 
side  and  then  to  the  other  of  a  straight  line,  will  be 
often  useful.  While  it  departs  least  from  the  straight 
line,  it  gives  the  most  constant  change  of  direction. 
It  also  presents  a  greater  variety  of  views.  It  is 
essentially  the  "line  of  beauty."  Yet  it  would  never 
do  to  repeat  this  form  of  curve  unvaryingly.  Other 
combinations  must  suggest  themselves  to  the  de- 
signer who  has  any  feeling  for  outline. 


20  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

Grouped  trees  give  an  appearance  of  naturalness 
because,  in  nature,  trees  are  almost  always  grouped. 
At  any  rate,  they  are  never  set  in  rows !  A  good, 
strong  oak  grows  up, — a  patriarch  of  the  forest. 
There  soon  appears,  under  the  shelter  of  its  spread- 
ing branches,  a  younger  generation  like  unto  the 
parent,  and  so  we  have  a  group  of  oaks.  A  group 
of  walnuts  arises  likewise  in  another  place;  and 
even  such  trees  as  the  willows  and  poplars,  which 
distribute  seeds  far  and  wide,  are  found  growing 
grouped  together  where  the  environments  are 
specially  suited  to  their  development.  It  ought  not 
to  be  necessary  to  argue  that  this  is  the  only  natural 
way  of  placing  trees  and  shrubs ;  yet  this  most  obvi- 
ous of  all  rules  is  most  commonly  disregarded. 

Shrubs  are  seldom  used  too  much,  and  they  are 
frequently  neglected.  Without  stopping  to  call 
attention  to  the  wonderful  diversity  of  riches  from 
which  we  may  select  when  we  wish  to  employ 
shrubs,  we  desire  now  only  to  point  out  that  their 
liberal  use  is  in  accord  with  the  natural  style  which 
we  are  seeking  to  develop.  Referring  again  to 
nature,  we  find  shrubs  distributed  all  about  her 
woodland,  and  especially  along  the  borders  of  her 
woods.  Since  at  best  we  seldom  have  more  than  a 
woodland  border  in  our  own  compositions,  its  em- 
bellishment with  shrubs  becomes  an  oft-recurrent 
problem.  A  judicious  arrangement  of  shrubbery 
will  often  obliterate  more  of  the  unpleasant,  unnat- 
ural and  inartistic  features  of  the  grounds  than  any 
amount  of  other  material  or  other  work.  Shrubs 
may  be  used  in  comparative  profusion,  because  they 
take  up  but  little  room.  A  good  view  of  some  things 
can  be  obtained  over  the  tops  of  low  shrubs,  and 
they  can  thus  be  given  positions  quite  forbidden  to 
trees. 


THE    NATURAL    STYLE.  21 

The  union  of  the  buildings  with  the  grounds,  so 
that  the  former  seem  parts  of  the  latter,  is  also 
oftenest  effected  by  the  use  of  shrubs.  A  building 
with  its  smooth  surfaces  and  rectangular  lines  aris- 
ing abruptly  out  of  the  lawn  gives  a  distinct  note  of 
disharmony.  The  remedy  is  to  break  up,  and,  as  far 
as  possible,  to  obliterate  the  line  of  demarcation. 
Shrubs  irregularly  grouped  along  the  walls  and 
massed  in  retreating  angles  help  to  do  this.  Their 
most  efficient  assistants  are  the  climbers,  which 
may  cling  to  the  walls  or  twine  about  the  porches, 
becoming  almost  part  and  parcel  of  the  building. 
Shrubs  and  climbers  together,  judiciously  placed, 
will  often  bring  into  the  closest  harmony  a  house 
and  grounds  which  without  them  would  have  been 
at  never-ending  war  with  one  another. 

LOSING  NATURALNESS. 

It  is  not  a  very  logical  arrangement  of  the  subject 
which  classifies  topics  under  these  two  exactly  op- 
posite heads, — gaining  naturalness  and  losing  natu- 
ralness. And  yet  it  has  the  advantage  of  conveni- 
ence. For  it  is  convenient  to  consider  some  things 
as  excellencies  and  some  others  as  faults,  some  as 
commissions  and  some  as  omissions,  some  positively 
and  others  negatively;  and  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
mention  certain  very  important  matters  from  both 
sides. 

Thus,  of  the  prominent  lines  of  the  ideal  land- 
scape we  have  said  that,  other  things  permitting, 
they  should  be  curved;  and  yet  there  is  no  redun- 
dancy in  saying  here  that  they  should  not  be  straight. 
The  doctrine  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  merit  a 
second  mention.  In  reality  it  is  often  disregarded, 
to  the  great  detriment  of  gardens,  public  squares  and 
house  grounds.  Yet  others  make  a  mistake  by  ac- 
cepting it  too  exclusively,  and  laying  curves  where 


22 


LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 


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THE    NATURAL    STYLE.  23 

there  is  no  room  for  them  and  sending  the  wayfarer 
a  long  journey  for  which  he  has  neither  heart  nor 
time.  Straight  lines  must  sometimes  be  used,  but 
the  gardener  must  then  content  himself  that  natu- 
ralness is  lost. 

Artificial  constructions,  in  the  sense  here  used,  is 
meant  to  cover  a  multitude  of  whims  and  fancies 
which  small  gardeners — and  some  of  higher  rating 
— are  always  introducing  in  their  choicest  and  most 
conspicuous  places.  Frequently  these  are  of  the 
most  puerile  order;  sometimes  they  are  very 
disgusting.  As  instances  come  under  my  own  ob- 
servation, I  may  mention  a  lawn  vase  made  of  an 
old  stove  painted  red;  a  big  rat-trap  trellis  with  no 
honeysuckles  to  grow  on  it;  a  pile  of  oyster  shells 
supporting  a  plant  tub  on  the  green  lawn ;  and  small 
flower  beds  edged  with  inverted  beer  bottles. 

One  of  the  most  generally  distributed  mistakes  of 
this  sort  is  the  conventional  rockery.  There  is  not 
space  here  to  explain  how  to  make  a  good  rockery ; 
but  the  general  principle  needs  most  to  be  empha- 
sized, that  nothing  will  save  a  rockery  from  con- 
demnation unless  it  appears  natural  to  its  surround- 
ings. It  may  be  added  that  the  proper  surroundings 
are  not  easily  secured ;  and  that  the  small,  flat  front 
yard  of  a  city  lot  can  never  furnish  the  associations 
to  justify  a  rockery.  When  a  heap  of  stones  is 
placed  carefully  in  the  middle  of  the  handVbreadth 
of  clipped  lawn  it  must  be  evident  to  the  most  sight- 
less observer  that  naturalness  is  lost. 

Another  afifair  much  affected  in  some  places  is  the 
little  trellis  placed  on  the  lawn  for  the  exhibition 
of  climbing  plants.  This  gives  always  a  note  of  dis- 
cord amidst  natural  or  semi-natural  elements,  and 
it  is  very  doubtful  if  such  a  trellis  could  be  made 
agreeable  in  any  method  of  gardening.  Climbers 
on  the  porches  and  walls  or  on  old  tree  trunks,  or 


24  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

clambering  wildly  over  the  tops  of  bushes,  give  a 
more  efficient  expression  of  naturalness  than  almost 
any  other  material  at  the  command  of  the  horticul- 
turist; and  it  is  perhaps  because  of  this  that  they 
break  so  forcibly  upon  the  rurality  of  the  scene  v^hen 
treated  so  thoughtlessly. 

The  summer  house,  which  may  also  be  one  of  the 
choicest  charms  of  certain  grounds,  sometimes  ap- 
pears as  a  very  monster  of  ugliness.  A  long  chap- 
ter might  be  written  here,  also,  detailing  what  is 
good  and  what  bad  in  the  way  of  summer  houses, 
rustic  arbors  and  shady  garden  seats,  but  it  answers 
better  our  passing  purpose  to  observe  that  these 
are  points  at  which  naturalness  is  often  lost,  and 
which,  therefore,  require  careful  treatment  and 
thoughtful  good  taste  to  adapt  them  quite  to  the  best 
interests  of  a  whole,  natural  composition. 

Bad  fences  are  worthy  of  separate  mention.  And 
the  first  thing  to  be  said  is  that  practically  all  fences 
are  bad,  considered  merely  as  items  in  an  art  com- 
position on  the  natural  plan.  Yet  there  are  wonder- 
ful degrees  of  badness  among  fences.  Good,  well 
kept  horticultural  hedges  of  privets,  roses,  spirseas, 
diervillas,  arbor  vitses,  and  other  plants  suitable  for 
the  special  purposes  in  view,  are  at  least  bearable, 
and  are  sometimes  distinctly  satisfactory.  A  hedge 
may  be  continuous  and  yet  irregular,  broadening  in 
one  place,  bending  in  another,  and  further  along 
merging  into  a  larger  group  of  trees  and  shrubs.  In 
this  way  it  may  serve  the  purposes  of  a  fence  with- 
out marring  the  naturalness  sought.  But  what  shall 
we  say  of  the  picket  and  great  board  fences  which 
embrace  so  many  otherwise  decent  private  and  pub- 
lic plots?  What  shall  we  say  to  this  frenzy  of  iron 
work  which  stands  between  us  and  the  grounds  we 
would  so  gladly  admire?  Plainly  naturalness  is  lost, 
— utterly  and  irrecoverably  lost.     These  fences  serve 

D«  H.  HILL  LIERARY 

North  Carolina  Stcte  College 


THE    NATURAL   STYLE.  25 

a  purpose.  They  answer  to  a  want  keen  and  urgent 
in  the  ordinary  home-owner's  heart;  that  is,  to  the 
desire  for  seclusion  and  privacy  and  the  unmolested 
and  unobserved  enjoyment  of  the  owner's  home  sur- 
roundings. This  seclusion  is  worth  striving  for  in 
the  garden  plan ;  but  if  naturalness  is  desired,  some 
other  expedient  ought  to  be  worked  out  compatible 
alike  with  naturalness  and  seclusiveness.  It  has 
sometimes  been  thought  worth  while  to  sink  the 
fences  in  deep  ditches,  the  banks  of  which  were 
given  special  treatment  to  conceal  the  whole ;  but 
this  means  will  not  commend  itself  to  many  opera- 
tors ;  neither  is  it  adapted  to  many  cases. 

White  Surfaces. — Pure  white  is  not  a  color  com- 
mon in  nature,  and  the  dazzling  reflection  from  ex- 
tended white  surfaces  reveals  an  artificiality  which 
is  glaring  in  a  double  sense.  Those  who,  amid  the 
shining  buil'dings  of  the  "White  City"  at  Chicago, 
suffered  from  headache  from  day  to  day,  had  demon- 
strated to  them  in  a  very  telling  way  the  unnatural- 
ness  of  white  surfaces.  This  is  not  meant  to  con- 
demn the  style  so  freely  adopted  at  the  World's 
Fair.  The  white  buildings  certainly  gave  a  strik- 
ing and  in  many  ways  an  enjoyable  effect.  Yet  there 
were  some  things  to  be  said  against  them.  On  a 
small  scale,  with  buildings  of  more  trivial  archi- 
tecture, white  painting  is  seldom  admissible  among 
plantings  of  a  naturalistic  accent.  Yet  note  how 
often  we  are  compelled  to  look  at  white  houses, 
especially  among  farmhouses,  where  the  exclusively 
and  perhaps  beautifully  rural  landscape  is  least  pre- 
pared to  receive  them.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  white 
surfaces  and  natural  effects  are  always  incongruous. 

Badly  Treated  Plants. — There  are  many  unnatu- 
ral methods  of  plant  training  in  vogue ;  and  it  goes 
without  saying  that  they  are  inconsistent  with  the 
English  style.     Yet  we  constantly  find  them  inter- 


26  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

mingled  with  purely  natural  objects,  much  to  the 
detriment  of  both.  The  junipers,  boxes,  arbor 
vitses  and  similar  plants  trimmed  into  smooth  cones, 
vases,  globes  and  more  complex  combinations,  illus- 
trate this  method.  Weeping  tops  grafted  on  straight, 
upright  trunks  belong  to  the  same  class.  Others 
might  be  mentioned,  some  good  and  some  bad  in 
themselves,  but  all  agreeing  in  the  certainty  with 
which  they  spoil  the  unity  of  any  place  in  which 
informal  treatment  is  essayed. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    ARCHITECTURAL    STYLE. 

The  evident  harmony  of  arrangement  between  the  house 
and  surrounding  landscape  is  what  first  strikes  one  in  Italian 
landscape  architecture, — the  design  as  a  whole,  including  gardens, 
terraces,  groves,  and  their  necessary  surroundings  and  embellish- 
ments, it  being  clear  that  no  one  of  these  component  parts  was 
ever  considered  independently,  the  architect  of  the  house  being 
also  the  architect  of  the  garden  and  the  rest  of  the  villa. 

Charles  A.  Piatt. 

A  number  of  terms,  all  equally  clear  and  useful, 
have  been  used  for  this  well-defined  style  of  garden- 
ing. We  need  to  notice  three, — architectural,  geo- 
metrical and  Italian.  Of  these  the  first  is  best  for 
our  purposes,  especially  if  architecture  is  understood 
in  the  broadest  sense  to  include  all  the  exterior 
accessories  of  buildings,  to  which  the  work  of  the 
architect  may  rightfully  extend.  Columns,  obelisks, 
arches,  fountains,  statues  and  groups  of  statuary, 
and  all  similar  structures  whatsoever,  are  in  this 
sense  included  within  the  common  range  of  archi- 
tecture and  architectural  gardening.  Indeed,  the 
earliest  and  some  of  the  best  examples  of  this  style 
which  we  have  were  planned  and  executed  by  pro- 
fessional architects, — men  who  did  not  claim  to  be 
gardeners  at  all.  The  term  "geometrical"  has  its 
obvious  signification.  It  is  perfectly  legitimate,  and 
in  many  places  highly  serviceable.  This  method  is 
also  widely  and  properly  known  as  the  Italian  style, 
having  received  its  best  development  in  Italy. 

The  architectural  style  is  diametrically  opposed  at 
all  points  to  the  extreme  natural  style.  It  is  oppo- 
site in  methods  and  in  effects ;  though  this  is  no  rea- 
son why  a  person  of  artistic  taste  may  not  find  full 
satisfaction  in  either.    The  most  modern  tendency  is 

27 


28 


LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 


THE   ARCHITECTURAL    STYLE.  29 

to  admit  the  architectural,  the  natural  and  all  other 
possible  styles  of  gardening,  to  equal  consideration ; 
to  recognize  that  each  may  claim  greatest  advan- 
tages in  special  situations;  and  to  choose  from 
among  different  styles,  in  a  frame  of  mind  quite 
free  from  prejudice,  the  one  best  suited  to  any 
given  circumstances  of  environment  and  de- 
mand. The  time  was, — and  recently, — when 
English  and  American  gardeners  were  very 
much  prejudiced  against  geometrical  methods  of 
all  sorts.  As  a  result,  their  attempted  naturalistic 
effects  were  forced  into  situations  where  grievous 
failure  alone  could  meet  them,  but  where  a  less 
partisan  good  taste  would  have  wrought  beautiful 
and  satisfying  results  through  the  discredited 
methods. 

Two  things  especially  have  contributed  in  recent 
years  to  an  honest  appreciation  in  America  of  the 
claims  of  the  architectural  style.  One  is  the  favor- 
able attitude  of  discriminating  praise  on  the  part  of 
almost  all  American  writers,  more  emphatically  pre- 
sented in  Mr.  Charles  A.  Piatt's  book,  "Italian  Gar- 
dens." The  second  cause  is  the  satisfaction  and 
delight  felt  by  all  in  the  wonderful  architectonic  out- 
door effects  realized  at  the  World's  Fair.  It  is  not 
so  much  that  the  gardening  architecture  of  the 
World's  Fair  was  so  much  grander  in  size,  extent 
and  artistic  conception  than  anything  we  had  previ- 
ously had  on  this  continent,  as  it  is  that  it  was  seen 
by  so  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  from 
all  parts  of  America,  to  most  of  whom  this  architec- 
tural glory  came  as  a  revelation. 

Before  beginning  to  point  out  the  specific  contriv- 
ances by  which  the  perfection  of  the  architectural 
style  is  sought,  it  will  be  best  to  consider  its  broader 
relations,  conditions  and  limitations.  The  architec- 
tural garden  is,  in  a  very  proper  sense,  an  extension, 


30 


LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 


THE   ARCHITECTURAL   STYLE.  3 1 

— a  development  of  the  building  or  buildings  in 
contiguity.  A  dwelling  house  must  have  porches, 
promenades,  provision  for  the  exercise,  rest  or  en- 
joyment of  its  inhabitants  in  the  open  air,  with  more 
or  less  protection  under  foot  and  overhead.  A  pub- 
lic building  must  have  its  colonnades,  loggias  and 
approaches.  These  may  extend  indefinitely  away 
from  the  proper  walls  of  the  building  and  into  the 
area  of  the  garden.  It  is  necessary  only  to  keep  up 
a  close  and  obvious  connection  between  the  entrance 
steps,  the  walks  of  stone  or  marble  flagging,  the 
resting  seats  of  hewn  stone,  the  fountains,  the  statu- 
ary and  the  stone  boundary  walls,  to  see  how  com- 
pletely the  main  edifice  may  extend  quite  to  the 
boundary  of  the  grounds. 

Looking  at  it  in  this  light  it  is  manifest  that  the 
surrounding  grounds,  developed  from  the  central 
building,  are  accessory  and  subordinate  to  it.  They 
serve  as  an  appropriate  frame  in  which  to  exhibit 
the  beauty  of  the  building.  They  do  not  attempt  to 
hide  the  main  work  of  architecture,  nor  to  draw 
attention  away  from  it,  but  to  point  out  and  em- 
phasize its  beauties.  It  would  be  well  if  this  point 
were  borne  in  mind  by  landscape  gardeners  in  gen- 
eral; for  there  are  many  cases  in  which  the  buildings 
are  of  supreme  interest,  and  any  gardening  which 
openly  competes  with  them  for  public  attention  and 
admiration  is  pronouncedly  intolerable.  It  is 
doubtful  if  any  naturalistic  effects  should  ever  be 
attempted  in  such  cases.  It  can  be  fairly  said  that 
the  possibiliti.es  of  developing  such  places  after  the  Ital- 
ian methods  are  seldom  realized  in  this  country ;  for 
while  we  have  a  great  deal  of  painfully  unnatural  gar- 
dening, we  have  wofully  little  creditable  architectural 
adornment  outside  the  paint  which  covers  our  houses. 

The  principle  of  choice  between  the  two  great 
styles  has  already  been  pointed  out.     In  situations 


32  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

where  the  buildings  are  necessarily  predominant, 
the  architectural  style  is  more  easy  of  application, 
while  in  those  cases  where  the  grounds  are  naturally 
of  chief  importance,  they  respond  most  readily  and 
satisfactorily  to  the  natural  style  of  development. 
This  rule  may  not  be  proof  against  exceptions,  but 
it  is  safe. 

One  word  more  needs  to  be  said.  A  compromise 
or  combination  of  the  two  styles — the  natural  and 
the  architectural — is  utterly  irrational  and  impossi- 
ble. Certain  concessions  to  architecture  are  always 
necessary  in  natural  gardening,  even  in  Yellowstone 
National  Park,  but  they  must  always  be  looked  upon 
as  detracting  from  the  ideal,  and  their  thoughtless 
introduction  or  unskillful  treatment  may  quickly 
damage  the  naturalistic  landscape  beyond  repair. 
And  so  must  flowers,  foliage  and  trees  be  brought 
into  the  architectural  garden,  but  they  must,  by 
heroic  efforts,  be  subordinated  to  the  geometrical 
outlines  of  the  main  features. 

Geometrical  lines,  always  to  be  avoided  in  natural- 
istic gardening,  are  to  be  conservatively  sought  in 
working  out  the  architectural  ideal.  Flower  beds, 
borders,  drives,  walks,  and  all  other  similar  elements 
of  the  landscape,  which  in  naturalistic  compositions 
would  preferably  be  expressed  in  flowing  curves, 
will  in  this  style  be  set  in  straight  lines  and  geo- 
metrical curves.  There  are  pleasing  geometrical  lines, 
and  unpleasing  ones.  More  truly  are  there  good  com- 
binations of  geometrical  lines,  .and  bad  ones.  To 
discriminate  between  the  good  and  the  bad  requires 
the  same  taste  that  is  needed  to  criticise  any  other  art 
object.  To  originate  a  good  one  in  the  imagination  and 
successfully  to  transfer  it  to  the  garden,  requires  the 
mind  and  the  education  of  an  artist. 

The  amateur  may  remember  that  these  three  tests 
can  safely  be  applied  to  his  geometrical  tracings : 


THE   ARCHITECTURAL    STYLE. 


33 


34  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

Simplicity,  boldness,  grace.  Simplicity  is  of 
supreme  importance.  Intricate  or  complex  geomet- 
rical designs,  which  do  not  appear  at  once  clear  and 
reasonable,  even  at  the  first  careless,  inattentive 
glance,  are  curiosities  fit  for  intellectual  study,  and 
not  elements  of  a  picture  for  the  delight  of  the  more 
subtle  aesthetic  faculties.  They  might  serve  a  pur- 
pose in  a  museum.  In  a  garden  they  nave  no  place. 
This  is  especially  to  be  insisted  on  at  this  point,  for 
the  novice  can  easily  combine  geometrical  forms ; 
but  doing  so  without  training  and  without  sympa- 
thy, his  work  is  at  best  grotesque,  and  quite  apt  to 
be  silly.  This  same  lack  of  feeling  for  dignity  of 
outline  results  in  tameness,  weakness,  puerility,  in 
place  of  that  quality  which  we  have  designated  as 
boldness.  We  might  have  called  this  quality 
dignity ;  but  dignity  is  both  simple  and  bold.  Now 
if  simplicity  and  boldness  alone  were  demanded  of 
geometrical  lines,  perfection  would  be  within  easy 
reach.  One  would  have  only  to  confine  himself  to 
rectangular  combinations  to  achieve  both.  But 
some  more  graceful  outlines  are  desired  by  the  eye, 
and  to  their  invention  the  designer  may  well  give 
earnest  study.  No  definition  of  grace,  in  this  sense, 
can  be  put  in  words,  much  less  any  directions  by 
which  its  realization  may  be  effectually  secured. 

The  lawn  has  already  been  referred  to  as  being  in 
a  double  sense  the  ground  work  of  the  garden  pic- 
ture. The  close  shaven  lawn  is  the  very  life  of  the 
architectural  garden.  Often  it  is  all  the  garden 
there  is  to  the  composition.  If  a  city  residence 
crowds  upon  a  busy  street,  trees,  shrubs  and  flowers 
are  all  impracticable;  but  the  little  strip  of  close  cut 
grass  between  is  clean,  cool  and  comfortable.  A 
court  yard  may  be  chiefly  concerned  with  a  foun- 
tain, stone  flagging  and  heavy  benches;  but  there 
may  be  some  little  patches  of  clipped  grass  in  be- 


THE   ARCHITECTURAL    STYLE.  35 

tween,  and  these  will  be  like  the  carpets  within  the 
building.  The  uncut  lawn  with  grass  running  riot 
is  so  evidently  out  of  unity  with  all  architectonic 
features  as  to  need  no  remark. 

Trees  set  in  rows  may  or  may  not  add  to  the  per- 
fection of  the  Italian  style.  If  trees  are  to  be  used 
in  any  moderate  number  they  should  usually  stand 
in  rows ;  and  if  they  approach  closely  to  some  .ex- 
tended geometrical  line  they  should  always  be 
placed  parallel  to  it.  This  applies  to  those  infre- 
quent instances  in  which  a  row  of  trees  will  appear 
next  the  long  face  of  a  building,  and  to  the  more 
common  cases  in  which  they  will  follow  a  drive  or 
walk.  It  is  quite  the  delight  of  the  landscape  archi- 
tect to  form  long  avenues  of  stately  trees ;  and  how 
successful  such  leafy  avenues  have  been  In  satisfy- 
ing the  longings  of  men's  hearts  one  need  only  con- 
sult the  historian,  the  story  writer  and  the  poet  to 
learn. 

Street  planting  should  be  referred,  for  discussion, 
to  this  place  in  our  outline  ;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  such 
general  importance,  and  yet  one  in  which  such  a 
surprising  amount  of  bad  taste  is  displayed,  that  we 
may  give  it  a  proportionally  large  amount  of  our 
attention.  The  street,  then,  is  to  be  regarded  as  a 
geometrical  figure,  and  is  to  be  consistently  treated 
as  such.  This  requires  three  things.  First,  the 
rows  should  be  parallel  with  the  street.  Second, 
the  trees  should  be  set  at  uniform  distances.  Third, 
the  individual  trees  should  be  just  as  nearly  uniform 
in  all  respects  as  it  is  possible  to  make  them.  The 
first  two  considerations  are  sufficiently  obvious. 
The  third  rule  is  constantly  violated.  It  is  not  at 
all  uncommon  to  find  two  or  more  distinct  species 
mixed  together  in  the  same  row.  The  writer  remem- 
bers to  have  seen  nine  different  species  in  a  single 
row  running  only  half  the  length  of  a  city  block. 


36  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

This  row  was  purposely  set  in  such  an  order  by  the 
enthusiastic  owner  of  the  property.  The  man  might 
consistently  have  sewed  nine  monstrously  different 
buttons  in  a  row  down  the  front  of  his  Prince  Albert 
coat.  Great  efi'ort  should  further  be  made  to  have 
all  the  trees  in  any  given  row  of  the  same  size  and 
form.  If  in  the  first  planting  of  a  street  only  a  part 
of  the  trees  grow,  no  time  or  pains  can  be  spared 
quickly  to  fill  the  vacancies.  And  during  the  early 
development  of  the  row  attention  should  be  given  to 
favor  the  slow  growing  specimens  and  to  check  the 
strong.  After  a  row  of  trees  of  a  single  species  is 
well  started,  a  satisfactory  uniformity  will  usually 
result  without  further  special  attention.  It  is,  of 
course,  not  desirable  to  try  to  make  each  elm  tree  along 
an  avenue  the  exact  counterpart  of  some  model;* 
but  with  trees  of  more  precise  forms  even  this  effort 
is  worth  while.  There  are  some  species  of  trees 
having  forms  almost  architectural  in  themselves, 
such  as  the  Lombardy  poplar ;  and  for  purely  orna- 
mental purposes  such  trees  may  be  used  with 
marked  success  along  avenues.  Other  trees,  as 
arbor  vitses,  which  can  be  clipped  into  distinctly 
geometrical  forms,  might  undoubtedly  be  used  with 
abundant  satisfaction  in  certain  cases  for  the  same 
purposes. 

Clipped  trees  and  shrubs  are  frequently  seen  in 
the  little  gardens  about  our  city  and  country  resi- 
dences. But  among  the  numerous  specimens  of  this 
sort  which  one  finds,  it  is  hard  indeed  to  find  one 
which  really  adds  some  value  to  the  scene.  They 
are  usually  mere  freaks  of  the  gardeners'  imagina- 
tion.   They  should  be  severely  discouraged.    But  in 


♦Special  effort  is  required,  however,  to  make  a  good  avenue  of  elms. 
The  diversities  of  form  are  often  so  serious  as  to  detract  materially  from 
the  beauty  of  the  row.  This  difficulty  may  be  overcome,  when  the  work  is 
of  sufficient  importance,  by  planting  well  selected  grafted  trees.  See  also 
Chapter  X,  Part  III. 


THE   ARCHITECTURAL    STYLE. 


37 


38  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

a  consistently  developed  Italian  garden,  judiciously 
placed  among  harmonious  surroundings,  these 
clipped  plants  may  become  beautiful  and  dignified. 
The  clipped  hedges  of  the  Italian  villas  are  a  most 
delightful  part  of  the  compositions.  In  some  of 
these,  sculptured  columns  are  set  at  regular  dis- 
tances, fitting  snugly  into  the  mass  of  the  hedge 
plants ;  and  thus  the  architectural  effect  is  accented 
and  improved. 

Topiary  work  was  extremely  fashionable  among 
the  gardeners  of  England  and  the  continent  in  the 
years  preceding  the  development  of  the  natural 
style.  It  was  more  used  there  than  in  Italy,  and 
without  the  related  features  of  the  Italian  style. 
Topiary  work  consists  in  the  clipping  of  trees  or 
shrubs  into  more  elaborate  architectural  or  statu- 
esque forms,  such  as  to  make  whole  arbors,  statues, 
and  often  ingeniously  grotesque  figures.  If  it  is 
useful  anywhere  it  may  be  brought  into  the  archi- 
tectural garden ;  but  its  extravagances  are  always 
unbearable,  and  are  now  haply  out  of  vogue. 

The  introduction  of  stairways,  balustrades,  urns, 
fountains  and  statues  in  a  much-frequented  garden, 
supposing  the  articles  to  be  in  themselves  pleasing, 
must  always  be  a  satisfaction  to  the  human  habitues. 
The  eye  delights  in  them  all.  So  that  when  we 
have  quite  laid  aside  the  attempt  to  deceive  the 
senses  into  a  feeling  of  rural  solitude,  and  are  work- 
ing along  professedly  artificial  lines,  nothing  gives 
greater  pleasure  than  well-executed  and  well-dis- 
posed architectural  and  sculpturesque  features. 
This  proposition  needs  no  argument  or  explanation. 
It  is  self-evident,  but  none  the  less  pregnant  for  its 
obviousness. 

The  colors  which  seem  most  in  unison  with  archi- 
tectural gardening  are  the  deep  green  monotones  in 
the  clipped  walls  and  columns.    A  mixture  of  colors 


THE   ARCHITECTURAL    STYLE.  39 

in  these  would  spoil  forever  their  dignity  and  re- 
pose. A  spotted  wall  or  a  variegated  column  would 
be  an  absurdity.  But  sharp  contrasts  are  in  some 
places  also  useful,  as  in  the  practice  of  setting  white 
marble  statues  against  walls  of  the  darkest  green. 
For  the  blossoming  plants  which  are  sometimes 
used  in  beds  or  pots,  bright  and  contrasting  colors 
are  to  be  chosen.  This  practice  is  also  entirely  the 
opposite  of  that  employed  in  the  natural  style,  where 
the  most  delicate  gradations  of  greens  and  grays 
are  contrived. 

A  terrace  always  presents  two  or  three  parallel 
lines,  according  to  its  construction.  These  should 
be  exactly  parallel  and  geometrical  in  outline.  They 
are  in  any  case  purely  formal,  geometrical,  archi- 
tectural ;  and  they  fit  easily  into  an  architectural 
composition  and  measurably  enhance  its  effect. 

Fountains  are  always  appropriate  to  the  style  of 
gardening  here  under  consideration.  But  limited 
stretches  of  still  water,  bound  in  by  stone  steps, 
walls  or  edgings,  also  serve  to  beautify  the  scene 
while  still  further  heightening  the  effect  which  we 
are  now  seeking.  It  may  perhaps  be  permissible 
to  refer  again  to  the  Court  of  Honor  at  the  World's 
Fair  in  illustration  of  the  wonderful  effectiveness  of 
water  surfaces  amid  architectural  surroundings. 
The  free  use  of  water  pieces  in  gardens  was  a  chief 
tenet  of  the  Moorish,  Persian  and  Indian  garden- 
ers, and  may  be  said  to  be  the  principal  attraction 
of  so  much  of  their  work  as  remains  to  the  present 
day. 

Flower  beds  were  notable  features  of  the  old  Ital- 
ian villas.  The  typical  disposition  of  them  was 
within  an  enclosure  walled  by  sheared  trees,  as 
already  described.  Within  these  environs  a  large 
number  of  small  flower  beds  were  laid  off  in  geomet- 
rical shapes,  edged  with  low  clipped  borders  of  grass 


so  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

or  shrubs,  and  separated  by  graveled  walks.  Both 
hardy  perennial  plants  and  flowering  annuals  were 
used  in  these  little  plots.  Outside  these  gardens,  in 
any  suitable  position,  flowering  or  foliage  plants 
may  be  found  in  pots  or  boxes.  These  receptacles 
may  be  at  the  successive  posts  of  a  horizontal  bal- 
ustrade ;  they  may  surmount  the  newel  posts  at  the 
foot  of  some  stairs,  or  they  may  flank  a  path-side 
garden  seat.  The  lawn  vases,  such  as  one  sees 
quite  too  often  on  naturalistically  treated  lawns, 
may  be  used  in  this  style  with  greater  freedom. 

Pattern  bedding  should  be  mentioned  here  because 
it  does  not  belong  to  the  architectural  ideal,  though 
some  people  may  suppose  that  it  does.  Indeed,  the 
pattern  beds  such  as  we  see  so  distastefully  dis- 
played in  our  parks,  showing  in  gaudy  colei  and 
acalyphas  the  day  of  the  week,  a  map  of  the  United 
States  or  an  ugly  ship  sailing  on  dry  land, — these 
things  do  not  belong  to  any  system  of  landscape 
gardening.  Neither  do  the  trivial  little  mosaics  of 
echeverias  and  geraniums  which  one  sees  in  private 
dooryards.  These  things  belong  in  the  horticultural 
museum,  along  with  other  oddities  and  monstrosi- 
ties. It  is  not  possible  to  speak  of  gardening  as  a 
fine  art  until  these  things  are  thoroughly  forsaken 
and  forgotten. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    PICTURESQUE    STYLE. 

But  regularity  can  never  attain  to  a  great  share  of  beauty, 
and  to  none  of  the  species  called  picturesque;  a  denomination 
in  general  expressive  of  excellence,  but  which,  by  being  to»v 
indiscriminately  applied,  may  be   sometimes  productive  of  errors. 

Thomas   Wheatley. 
Nay,  farther,  we  do  not  scruple  to  assert  that  roughness  forms 
the  most  essential   point   of   difference   between   the   beautiful   and 
the   picturesque.  William    Gilpin. 

L'irregularite  est  1'   essence  du   pittoresque. 

Edouard  Andre. 

This  chapter  is  introduced  for  two  purposes :  First, 
to  treat  of  a  quality  in  landscape  composition  which, 
if  carried  out  to  a  considerable  extent,  produces  a 
style  really  different  from  either  of  those  already 
treated;  and,  second,  to  represent  any  number  of 
additional  styles  of  landscape  gardening  be3^ond  the 
two  generally  recognized.  There  are  no  common, 
well  defined  and  well  known  styles  except  the  natu- 
ral and  the  architectural ;  but  there  is  no  essential 
reason  why  there  should  not  be.  It  may  even  be 
regarded  as  desirable  that  there  shall  arise  some 
school  of  artists  with  sufficient  keenness  of  inven- 
tion and  purity  of  feeling  to  create  some  really  new 
styles  for  us.  At  present  it  comes  best  within  the 
range  of  our  study  to  call  attention  to  the  peculiar 
quality  of  picturesqueness ;  and  to  suggest  that  it 
may,  in  some  situations,  be  emphasized  over  a  con- 
siderable space.  In  such  a  case  the  picturesque  is 
essentially  a  distinct  style. 

There  are  many  plant  forms  which  are  pictur- 
esque in  themselves,  and  which  may  best  illustrate 
the  nature  of  this  quality  to  anyone  not  clearly  un- 
derstanding what  it  is.    Such  forms  are  those  of  the 

u 


42 


LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 


gingko  tree,  Table  Mountain  pine,  Weeping  Nor- 
way spruce.  Weeping  larch,  Wier's  Cut  Leaved 
maple,  the  leafless  Kentucky  coffee  tree,  and  many 
others.  No  general  definition  of  picturesqueness, 
as  applied  thus  to  plants,  can  well  be  given  so  as 
to  enable  an  inexperienced  eye  to  select  them  from 
the  arboretum.  But  the  landscape  gardener,  in 
whose  mind  the  ideal  is  clearly  conceived,  will  have 


Fig.    n.     DOWNING'S  IDEA  OF  PICTURESQUENESS. 


small  difficulty  in  finding  the  plants  suited  to  its 
expression. 

A  broken  and  uneven  surface  is  especially  adapted 
to  the  production  of  picturesque  effects.  Indeed,  it 
is  not  improper,  though  not  strictly  correct  for  all 
cases,  to  designate  the  peculiar  beauties  of  mountain 
scenery  as  picturesqueness.  Mountain  scenery  is 
not  commonly  architectural  in  style ;  neither  does  it 
have  the  smooth  and  flowing  outlines  of  the  English 
ideal  garden.     Should  a  landscape  gardener  some 


THE   PICTURESQUE    STYLE. 


43 


time  find  himself  with  a  piece  of  mountain  ground 
to  work  upon,  he  would  hardly  be  excusable  should 
he  attempt  any  other  treatment  than  the  picturesque 
effects  usually  found  in  such  places. 

Dark  color  masses  and  monotones  have  often  a 
weird  and  picturesque   suggestion   for  the   sympa- 


4 

^y 

■,^ 

-1 

•^ 

m 

^■wC 

IP'^ 

fli 

w 

■M 

^  Jll^ 

4 

^ 

^^^f  ' 

Fig.    12.     PICTURESQUE   PINE  TREES. 


thetic  mind.  This  is  even  the  case  when  expressed 
in  the  formal  outlines  of  the  architectural  style,  but 
it  is  more  strikingly  true  when  the  dark  monotones 
appear  in  masses  of  black  spruces,  or  similarly  dark 
foliaged  plants.  The  deep,  dark  shadows  of  moun- 
tain sides  add  noticeably  to  the  effectiveness  of  the 
scene,  and  to  the  quality  here  considered. 


44  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

A  much  broken  sky  line  is  not  always  desirable 
in  other  styles  of  gardening,  particularly  in  the  nat- 
ural. It  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  first  points  of  instruc- 
tion usually  given  in  attempts  to  teach  the  natural 
style,  that  the  sky  line  should  be  broken ;  but  this 
expedient  for  variety  may  well  have  its  limits  in 
most  naturalistic  compositions.  In  a  development 
of  the  picturesque  it  has  practically  no  limit,  and 
the  more  the  sky  line  may  be  serried  and  cut  the 
more  emphatic  will  be  the  resulting  effect. 


-:^  BMI 

^W 

iiH 

P 

Fig.    13.     PICTURESQUE  JAPANESE  GARDENING. 

The  scattering  specimens  of  starved  and  deformed 
pines  which  one  sees  at  some  places  on  rugged  hill 
or  mountain  sides  have  a  charming  picturesqueness 
in  themselves  which  fits  well  into  their  surround- 
ings. Solid  groups  of  symmetrically  developed  trees 
in  such  situations  would  be  patent  detractions  from 
the  general  local  effect.  The  scattering  individuals 
have  a  great  advantage,  and  these  are  best  displayed 
in  middle  distances.  A  single  tree  is  always  a  mid- 
dle-ground subject.  If  it  be  too  close  to  the  observer 
its  composite  beauty  is  unseen;  if  it  be  too  far,  its 


THE   PICTURESQUE    STYLE.  45 

individuality  is  blurred.  All  this  is  of  especial 
weight  in  a  specimen  exhibited  for  its  individual 
eccentricities.  It  has  even  been  the  practice  in  some 
instances  to  plant  dead  and  blasted  trees  in  pleas- 
ure grounds  for  the  picturesqueness  of  their  effect, 
but  the  expediency  of  such  a  plan  is  very  question- 
able. 


'P  " 


^nM^ 


r 


CHAPTER  VI. 

VARIETY. 


Nature  puts  so  much  variety  into  her  reality  that  she  is  more 
beautiful  than  we  can  imagine  by  sheer  force  of  quantity  I  Ten 
days  for  an  artist  in  a  mountain  valley  will  give  him  ten  views 
from  the  same  point  which  will  be  entirely  different  each  day. 

F.  Schuyler  Mathews. 

Gettiamo  un  rapido  sguardo  sul  vasto  imperio  delle  arti, 
osserviamo  per  poco  le  produzioni  di  ciascuna,  e  resteremo 
convitti  che,  nulla  e  bello  alia  ragione  se  non  le  si  presenta 
con  parti  varie,  e  queste  riunite  in  un  principo  comune. 

F.  Cartolano. 

Thus  far  we  have  been  treating  of  unity,  and 
pointing  out  those  particular  elements  which  are 
usually  harmonious  when  brought  together.  Unity 
must  always  be  placed  first,  as  the  most  important 
quality ;  for  sometimes  unity  alone  will  make  a  small 
composition  agreeable.  Still,  if  unity  means  uni- 
formity, sameness,  the  eye  soon  tires  of  it.  But 
unity  does  not  demand  sameness.  There  may  be 
unity  with  variety.  The  two  are  not  really  opposed 
to  each  other,  though  either  one  would  be  easier  to 
accomplish  could  the  other  be  disregarded.  Per- 
fect unity  with  satisfying  variety  need  not  be  even 
a  compromise ;  but  both  tests  must  always  be  ap- 
plied by  the  gardener.  It  is  helpful  to  the  land- 
scape composer  to  remember  that  variety  is  possi- 
ble in  surface,  form,  materials,  color,  texture,  sea- 
son, composition  and  position. 

In  seeking  to  vary  the  surface  on  which  our 
gardening  is  to  be  done,  our  attention  falls  first  upon 
the  three  simplest  forms  of  ground,  viz.,  the  plane, 
the  concave  and  the  convex  surfaces.  And  we  note 
also  that  the  concave  and  convex  surfaces  give  in 
themselves  a  much  greater  variety  of  view  than  is 


VARIETY.  47 

afforded  by  a  plane.  This  is  so  potent  a  fact  that 
in  making  up  the  surface  of  the  grounds  for  park 
or  residence  purposes  great  care  is  usually  taken  to 
avoid  a  perfect  plane,  and  still  to  give  a  uniform 
sw^ell  or  depression.  Breaking  the  plane  w^ith  a 
succession  of  little  hillocks  v^ould  be  fatal  indeed. 
Of  these  three  classes  of  surface  the  concave  is  usu- 
ally to  be  preferred  for  small  areas,  for  it  gives  rnuch 
the  best  effect  of  extent.  From  any  point  within  a 
concavity  the  w^hole  surface  is  visible.  This  is  not 
true  of  a  convexity;  and  a  perfectly  flat  surface  will, 
unless  given  some  bold  and  striking  treatment, 
always  have  a  suggestion  of  inconsequentiality 
about  it. 

A  caution  needs  to  be  inserted  here  to  secure  the 
best  use  of  these  several  varieties  of  surface.  As 
long  ago  as  1770  Thomas  Wheatley  said :  *Tn  made 
'ground  the  connection  is,  perhaps,  the  principal  con- 
sideration. A  swell  which  wants  it  is  but  a  heap; 
a  hollow  but  a  hole;  and  both  appear  artificial. 
.  .  .  Such,  shapes  should  be  contiguous  as  most 
readily  unite;  and  the  actual  division  between  them 
should  be  anxiously  concealed.  If  a  swell  descends 
upon  a  level ;  if  a  hollow  sinks  from  it,  the  level  is 
an  abrupt  termination,  and  a  little  rim  marks  it 
distinctly.  To  cover  that  rim  a  short  sweep  at  the 
foot  of  the  swell,  a  small  rotundity  at  the  entrance 
of  the  hollow,  must  be  interposed."  All  these  cau- 
tions are  fully  worth  attention;  for  the  slightest 
differences  in  the  surface  of  the  ground  are  obvious 
and  important  to  the  sympathetic  beholder. 

Broken  ground  offers  an  evident  and  spicy  variety. 
The  value  of  broken  ground  for  developments  of  the 
picturesque  has  already  been  touched  upon. 

Sloping  grounds  have  a  value  all  their  own,  and 
for  their  most  effective  utilization,  require  a  special 
treatment.    Mr.  Parsons,  in  his  "Landscape  Garden- 


48  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

ing,"  includes  a  chapter  of  useful  directions  for  the 
treatment  of  such  sites,  which  the  student  will  do 
well  to  consult.  Here  we  will  content  ourselves  by 
saying  that  two  opportunities  are  afforded  the 
gardener  by  sloping  grounds  which  are  elsewhere 
unusual.  The  first  is  in  the  diversity  of  surface  pre- 
sented. The  second  is  in  the  advantageous  situation 
for  the  display  of  many  plants  which,  in  any  other 
position,  would  not  appear  to  advantage.  In  respect 
to  the  first,  it  should  be  explained  that  even  com- 
paratively gentle  slopes  may  be  emphasized  by 
proper  treatment  until  they  appear  to  be  steep 
declivities.  The  first  expedient  to  this  end  lies  in 
the  treatment  of  the  ground  itself.  It  is  simply  to 
contrive  small  irregularities  of  the  surface  by  plac- 
ing here  and  there  a  little  swell  which  rises  abruptly 
and  then  falls  away  very  gently  down  the  hill.  This 
part  of  the  declivity  will  of  course  be  steeper  than 
the  general  slope ;  and  a  few  of  these  contrasts  will 
give  the  appearance  desired.  Such  variety  is  often 
to  be  sought  on  a  nearly  flat  and  featureless  place. 
A  slope  also  furnishes  a  specially  suitable  location 
for  the  disposition  of  rocks,  both  because  they  are 
needed  to  hold  the  hillside  against  washing  by  rains, 
and  because  they  appear  to  much  better  advantage 
than  on  level  ground.  If  the  rocks  used  on  a  hill- 
side are  not  in  their  natural  stratifications,  and 
plainly  so,  they  should  always  be  mingled  with 
grass  and  shrubs  and  trailing  vines.  Many  trailing 
vines  give  great  satisfaction  if  allowed  to  run  at 
liberty  down  the  side  of  a  bank.* 

Water  in  any  form  furnishes  an  ever  pleasing 
addition  to  a  garden,  whether  as  a  bubbling  foun- 
tain,  a  sparkling  brook,  or  a  cool  and  quiet  expanse 


*Trailing  plants  may  often  be  used  to  great  advantage.  In  many  such 
situations  the  hardy  perennials  are  especially  desirable.  See  Chap.  XXI, 
Part  IV. 


VARIETY, 


49 


Fig.    14.     THE   BEAUTY   OF   THE   WINTER   TREES. 


50  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

of  mirror-like  surtace.  In  brooks  and  ponds  it  fur- 
nishes one  of  the  most  delightful  resources  of  the 
landscape  gardener.  Besides  the  wonderful  variety 
of  pleasing  effects  of  which  it  is  in  itself  capable, 
it  provides  the  only  opportunity  for  growing  many 
species  and  varieties  of  our  most  beautiful  plants. 
The  possibilities  which  are  open  to  the  landscape 
gardener  in  the  treatment  of  water  surfaces  are  so 
magnificent  and  manifold  that  neither  description 
nor  enumeration  is  practicable  here.  We  can  only 
declare  with  all  emphasis  that  when  water  surfaces 
are  brought  into  a  landscape  composition  an  im- 
measurable field  of  harmonious  variety  is  opened 
for  cultivation  by  the  resourceful  gardener. 

A  curved  line  changes  direction  at  every  point 
This  is  the  old  definition,  which,  in  itself,  is  a  plain 
statement  that  an  infinite  variety  of  direction  is  con- 
tained in  a  curved  line.  A  straight  line  has  only  one 
direction. 

The  partial  concealment  of  principal  points  of  in- 
terest is  a  common  and  profitable  expedient  in  most 
cases, — less  so  perhaps  in  the  architectural  style 
than  in  others.  In  the  natural  style  it  is  always 
admissible  to  group  the  trees  so  as  to  hide,  partially 
or  totally,  the  buildings  from  most  situations,  and  to 
give  a  really  complete  view  from  only  a  few  spe- 
cially favorable  points.  If  a  group  is  so  placed  as  to 
afford  a  partial  view  of  the  buildings  from  one  stand- 
point, a  totally  dififerent  view  is  seen  from  a  second 
standpoint.  In  this  way  the  buildings  are  seen  in 
an  endless  variety  of  forms.  If  a  drive  or  walk 
leads  up  to  some  object  of  special  interest,  it  may 
be  always  considered  a  good  plan,  where  possible, 
to  give  successive  glimpses  of  the  object  along  the 
way,  reserving  a  full  view  for  a  final  triumph  at  a 
point  from  which  the  whole  may  be  best  admired. 

It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  at  public  institutions, 


VARIETY. 


51 


where  several  buildings  are  needed,  to  find  them  all 
of  the  same  general  design  and  placed  in  a  row,  all 
fronting  the  same  way.  I  have  in  mind,  as  having 
come  within  my  own  observation,  two  instances  of 
this.  One  is  a  large  reform  school ;  the  other  a  great 
state  university.  In  either  case  there  was  room,  and 
to  spare,  for  a  difference  of  design  and  location. 
There  may  be  circumstances  which  make  the  uni- 
form plan  and  arrangement  the  best,  but  certain 
monotony  is  the  result. 


Fig.    15.     GOOD  SKYLINE   PRODUCED   BY   PROPER  GROUPING. 


Deep  vistas  in  any  landscape  planting  are  desir- 
able for  many  reasons.  They  give  depth  to  the 
scene.  Our  gardening  is  usually  on  too  small  a 
scale  to  satisfy  fully  the  hungry  eye.  One's  look 
will  wander  away  and  beyond  the  fence  which  limits 
the  little  garden,  and  seek  to  lose  itself  at  the  far- 
thest reach  of  the  eyesight's  power.  Thus  it  but 
satisfies  a  natural  desire  if  the  openings  in  the  gar- 
den plantings  are  so  placed  as  to  permit  the  eye  full 
enjoyment  of  any  good  extraneous  view.  And  even 
within  the  grounds  a  long  perspective  furnishes  a 


52  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

variety  of  views,  since  in  it  some  objects  are  seen  at 
a  distance,  some  in  middle-ground  and  some  in  the 
foreground. 

The  sky  line  should  never  be  monotonous.  In 
speaking  of  picturesque  effects  we  have  already  sug- 
gested that  the  sky  line  should  not  always  be  much 
broken.  The  charm  of  the  purely  natural  style, 
especially  in  certain  situations,  lies  in  its  utter  quiet- 
ness and  peacefulness.  A  horizon  full  of  Lombardy 
poplar  exclamation  points  is  not  in  unity  with  such 
ideas.  But  the  sky  line  may  be  diversified  more 
gently.  It  may  be  carried  high  on  one  side  by  a 
mass  of  heavy  woods ;  it  may  sink  low  on  another 
side,  to  the  surface  of  a  lake ;  and  in  one  or  two 
places  it  may  perhaps  be  accentuated  with  the  spire- 
like poplars.  This  is  a  matter  in  which  good  taste 
must  be  exercised;  for  while  very  few  observers  will 
analyze  a  scene  and  itemize  the  excellencies  and 
defects  of  the  sky  line,  the  most  unsympathetic  mind 
may  be  keenly,  though  perhaps  unconsciously,  alive 
to  both. 

Very  few  people  have  any  conception  of  the  mul- 
titudinous species  and  varieties  of  trees,  shrubs, 
climbers,  flowering  and  foliage  plants  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  horticultural  architect.  With  twenty 
sorts  of  maples,  and  as  many  oaks ;  with  poplars  in 
all  shapes  and  sizes;  with  dozens  of  varieties  of 
lilacs,  scores  of  spiraeas  and  hundreds  of  roses ;  with 
evergreens  and  deciduous  trees  ;  fastigiate  and  weep- 
ing trees ;  dark-colored  and  yellow  trees ;  broad- 
leaved  and  cut-leaved  trees ;  big  trees  and  little 
trees ;  with  other  trees,  shrubs,  climbers  and  hardy 
plants  literally  "too  numerous  to  mention,"  the  gar- 
dener need  never  want  for  variety  of  material.  To 
know  these  resources  and  to  understand  the  possi- 
bilities of  each  species  and  variety  is  to  master  the 
landscape  gardener's  useful  alphabet. 


VARIETY.  53 

"From  the  artistic  point  of  view,  trees  have  three 
characteristics  v^hich  may  be  separately  studied, — 
form,  texture  and  color."*  We  have  already  noticed 
the  general  variety  in  forms  available  to  the  land- 
scape gardener;  but  it  is  worth  while,  in  the  present 
connection,  to  emphasize  the  attractive  variety  of 
forms  which  meet  the  admiration  of  the  tree  lover. 
The  form  of  a  tree  is  its  first  and  most  evident  char- 
acteristic. Its  outline  is  always  beautiful,  either  in 
its  symmetry  or  its  irregularity,  as  the  case  may  be ; 
and  the  man  who  does  not  notice  the  difference  be- 
tween the  form  of  a  Sugar  maple  and  a  Mossy  Cup 
oak  is  one  to  whom  I'Angelus  might  as  well  have 
been  a  chromo. 

There  are  considerable  contrasts  of  color  among 
trees.  One  may  cite  as  examples  the  Red  oak,  the 
Silver  poplar  and  the  Golden  willow.  But  the  most 
pleasing  and  numerous  varieties  of  color  in  trees 
and  shrubs  are  separated  from  each  other  as  barely 
distinguishable  tints.  The  proper  combination  of 
these  tints  is  delicate  work  for  a  sympathetic  and 
artistic  mind;  but  there  is,  nevertheless,  a  wide  dif- 
ference between  good  combinations  and  bad  ones. 

The  difference  between  a  strip  of  mosquito  net- 
ting and  a  piece  of  sail  cloth  is  chiefly  one  of  texture. 
We  speak  of  texture  oftenest  in  connection  with 
woven  fabrics,  and  in  that  connection  we  best  un- 
derstand what  it  means.  But  it  is  not  a  difficult  mat- 
ter to  transfer  this  notion  of  texture  to  the  apparent 
solidity,  or  lack  of  solidity,  in  the  mass  of  green 
which  the  foliage  of  any  tree  may  present.  A  plane  tree 
is  not  greatly  different  in  form  from  a  Kentucky  coffee 
tree,  and  yet  what  a  difference  in  the  effect  they  have  on 
the  observer !  Compare  a  catalpa  with  a  honey  locust ;  a 
tulip  tree  with  a  willow.  What  a  difference  in  the  whole 
aspect  of  the  trees  contrasted !  These  examples  may, 

*Mrs.  Schuyler  Van  Rensselaer,  "Art  Out  of  Doors." 


54 


LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 


VARIETY.  55 

perhaps,  suggest  the  meaning  of  Mrs.  Van  Rensse- 
laer's definition:  "By  texture  of  a  tree  I  mean  the 
character  of  its  masses  of  foliage  as  determined  by 
the  manner  of  growth  of  the  lighter  spray,  and  the 
number,  shape,  disposition  and  tissue  of  its  leaves." 
In  no  other  quality  of  a  tree  is  variety  more  effective 
than  in  the  texture.  Some  striking  differences  of 
texture  in  foliage  are  shown  in  Fig.  i6. 

The  horticultural  calendar  has  certain  well- 
marked  divisions  to  which  the  exhibitor  of  growing 
plants  may  well  have  thoughtful  regard.  The  first 
essay  that  was  ever  written  in  the  English  language 
on  the  subject  of  ornamental  gardening  opened  with 
an  extreme  prescription  for  this  arrangement.  'T 
do  hold  it,"  says  Bacon,*  '*in  the  royal  ordering  of 
gardens,  there  ought  to  be  gardens  for  all  the 
months  of  the  year,  in  which,  severally,  things  of 
beauty  may  be  then  in  season."  The  essayist  pro- 
ceeds immediately  to  give  a  catalogue  of  the  plants 
seasonable  to  each  month  of  the  year,  "for  the 
climate  of  London."  We  may  doubt  whether  ten 
or  twelve  classes  of  plants  can  practicably  be  made 
on  this  basis ;  but  we  distinguish  in  our  own  aesthetic 
sensibilities  with  great  differences  between  spring 
greens,  June  roses,  midsummer's  wealth  of  foliage, 
autumn  colors  and  choice  winter  scenes.  Any  particu- 
lar plant  is  not  likely  to  figure  in  its  perfection 
through  more  than  one  or  two  of  these  seasons ;  and 
this  opens  to  the  landscape  gardener  a  serious  prob- 
lem. The  question  is,  shall  we  attempt  to  inter- 
mingle the  perfections  of  all  the  year  so  as  to  have 
somewhat  of  attractiveness  in  each  several  group 
at  all  times?  Or  shall  we  rather  follow  the  dictum 
of  Lord  Bacon,  and  group  together  those  plants  suit- 
able to  each  successive  season?  Doubtless  each 
method  is  at  times  expedient.    If  one's  garden  is  so 

♦Lord  Francis  Bacon,  Essays,  "Of  Gardening." 


56  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

small  as  to  hold  only  a  single  group  of  plants  he  will 
scarcely  care  to  buy  a  single  month  of  superlative 
perfection  at  the  expense  of  eleven  months  of  dullness 
and  desolation.  But  where  the  gardening  is  on  a  more 
extensive  scale  the  artist  may  distribute  his  beauties  into 
any  sort  of  an  annual  cyclorama  which  he  chooses.  He 
will  gain,  at  all  events,  a  most  acceptable  variety  by 
having  regard  to  the  special  seasons  mentioned. 

It  is  not  within  the  range  of  our  present  inquiry  to 
enumerate  those  special  plants  which  are  ready  to 
the  gardener's  hand  for  these  diverse  effects.  This 
has  already  been  done  in  many  useful  books,  and 
some  suggestions  are  made  in  Part  III  of  the  present 
volume.  The  competent  gardener  should  be  able, 
out  of  his  own  knowledge,  to  select  the  most  pleas- 
ing materials  for  his  pictures. 

The  light  gray-greens  are  perhaps  characteristic 
of  the  early  spring.  As  trees  and  shrubs  put  forth 
their  first  unfolding  buds  the  general  effect  is  much 
different  from  that  given  by  the  same  plants  after 
the  full  dress  of  foliage  is  put  on.  Usually  the  color 
is  several  shades  lighter — grayer — and  this  appear- 
ance is  further  heightened  by  the  grayer  twigs  not 
yet  covered  out  of  sight  but  showing  more  and  more 
dimly  through  the  thickening  screen  of  green  leaves. 
Certain  plants  are  more  beautiful  in  this  spring 
dress  than  at  any  subsequent  season. 

Some  of  the  willows  should  be  prominently  men- 
tioned in  this  category ;  for  example,  the  Royal  wil- 
low, SalLv  regalis.  Among  the  smaller  flowering 
plants  there  is  a  specially  rich  field  of  possibilities, 
including  crocus,  narcissus,  jonquils,  hyacinths, 
tulips  and  others.  These  are  suitable  not  only  to  be 
the  first  occupants  of  the  bleak  flower  beds  after 
the  mulch  is  removed  in  the  spring,  but  they  should 
be  scattered  with  a  liberal  hand  through  the  grass 
and  in  the  borders,  where  they  come  on  year  after 


VARIETY.  57 

year  amid  surroundings  which  make  them  seem 
even  more  dainty  and  graceful  and  delightful  har- 
bingers of  returning  spring  than  when  grown  in 
specially  prepared  beds. 

June  is  the  month  of  roses,  brides  and  college 
graduates.  It  is  particularly  a  month  of  fetes  and 
of  care-free  enjoyment  of  living.  Weddings  and 
commencements  are  the  gardener's  good  patrons, 
and  for  them  the  grounds  may  well  put  on  their 
holiday  attire.  June  is  the  youthful  gala  time  of  the 
garden ;  and  the  bold  and  blushing,  smiling  and 
nodding,  vain  and  conscious  roses,  which  would  be 
thought  immodest  amid  the  tranquillity  of  summer 
or  the  somberness  of  autumn,  are  now  received  with 
gladness  as  the  fitting  expression  of  our  exuberant 
emotions.  Flowers  in  abundance,  with  roses  pre- 
dominating; bright  colors  and  heavy  perfumes ;  with 
greens  and  grays  and  old  folks  kept  in  the  back- 
ground— these  are  the  colors  for  the  June  picture, 
the  chords  for  the  June  music. 

In  midsummer  nothing  is  more  delightful  than 
quiet  rest  under  cooling  shade.  No  flashing  colors 
for  us  now.  No  jarring  contrasts  for  the  tired  eyes. 
The  trees  now  invite  us  with  their  thickest  canopy 
of  foliage ;  and  if  beneath  them  stretches  a  cool, 
clean  greensward,  and  if  the  shadows  fall  all  un- 
troubled into  a  still  pool  near  by,  we  rest  amid  these 
scenes  with  an  overflowing  gratitude  for  the  kind 
hands  by  which  they  are  provided.  We  have  fled 
the  dusty  highway,  the  burning  streets,  the  noise 
and  hurry  and  commotion  of  business.  Quiet  and 
solitude  are  our  chief  desires.  These  feelings,  com- 
mon to  all  men  at  such  times,  indicate  unequivocally 
the  duty  of  the  gardener.  With  so  unmistakable  a 
demand  upon  him,  he  is  no  gardener  at  all  who  will 
not  know  what  he  ought  to  do. 

The   beautiful   colors   of  autumn   are   too   much 


5« 


LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 


loolced  Upon  as  secondary  qualities  of  the  plants 
which  affect  them,  and  their  disposition  on  the 
grounds  is  too  much  a  matter  of  chance.  The  gar- 
dener ought  to  recognize  in  these  autumn  colors 
another  opportunity  for  the  aggregation  of  scattered 
beauties.  Through  these  he  may  produce  one  more 
almost  spectacular  eft'ect  before  the  winter  shuts  us 
all  indoors  away  from  the  enjoyment  of  his  works. 


Fig.    17.     THE  SNOW  ON   THE   TREES. 

Without  speaking  of  the  individual  excellencies  of 
the  oaks,  the  liquidambar,  the  maples  and  the  tulip 
trees,  we  may  note  that  two  distinct  colors  appear 
in  great  quantities,  namely  the  reds  and  the  yel- 
lows. Each  of  these  is  present  in  comparative  purity 
in  certain  species,  and  their  combination  is  specially 
adapted  to  provide  the  most  extraordinary  contrasts. 
And  at  no  other  time  of  the  year  would  the  eye 
accept  such  gaudy  hues, — no,  not  even  in  June, — 
much  less  delight  in  them.     But  now  as  our  over- 


VARIETY.  59 

coats  are  buttoned  on  and  as  we  hurry  along  to  get 
ourselves  under  shelter  from  the  bustling  wind,  we 
are  in  no  mood  to  note  details  and  examine  delicate 
effects.  A  picture  must  cry  out  after  us  if  it  would 
get  our  attention.  And  so  the  gardener  may  mass  to- 
gether as  much  as  he  pleases  of  those  gorgeous  colors 
of  the  early  frost ;  and  we  will  stop  a  moment  to  admire 
his  work  again  and  to  thank  him  for  it  ere  we  betake 
ourselves  to  the  blazing  hearth  and  the  absorbing  book. 

But  even  the  winter  does  not  wholly  rob  the  gar- 
dener of  opportunity  to  please  us.  Indeed,  some  of 
the  most  gracious  products  of  the  ornamental 
grounds  are  those  blessings  which  are  enjoyed  in 
midwinter.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the 
ground  must  be  all  bleakness  and  desolation  as  soon 
as  snow  falls.  There  is  a  whole  host  of  the  ever- 
greens to  refute  such  a  supposition.  The  variety  of 
them  is  greater  than  the  uninitiated  might  at  all  sus- 
pect. With  them  may  be  arranged  many  shrubs 
and  small  trees  which,  though  deciduous,  have  bark 
of  such  bright  and  pleasing  hues  that  they  may  be 
shown  against  dark  backgrounds  in  many  cheery 
combinations.  Such  are  the  Golden  willow,  the 
Golden  spiraea  and  the  Red  branched  dogwood.  A 
long  list  of  others  might  easily  be  made.  There  are 
certain  corners  of  the  garden  which  are  usually  espe- 
cially conspicuous  from  the  windows  of  the  living 
rooms ;  and  it  is  a  pity  if  part  of  this  scene  at  least 
cannot  be  robbed  of  its  winter  bleakness  and  dreariness. 
If  such  spots  are  chosen  for  beautiful  winter  effects 
the  designer  has  gained  another  triumph  in  his  art. 

There  is  some  danger  that  the  beginner  in  plant 
grouping  will  make  all  his  groups  alike.  This  is  a 
very  easy  thing  to  do.  To  avoid  it,  it  first  becomes 
necessary  that  the  operator  shall  see  the  sameness 
into  which  he  is  falling.  This  he  can  best  do  in  his 
own  work  by  directing  his  imagination  to  construct 


60  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

before  him  the  various  finished  groups.  It  is  cer- 
tainly unlikely  that  the  individual  plants  will  be  set 
in  exactly  homologous  positions  unless  the  groups 
are  set  with  a  tape  measure.  But  it  is  not  difficult, 
if  the  imagination  be  serviceable,  to  compare  the 
probable  final  effects  of  two  groups,  and  determine 
with  satisfactory  accuracy  if  the  two  will  look  alike 
twenty  years  hence.  Aside  from  the  ability  to  see 
mistakes,  it  requires  an  inventive  mind  to  devise 
new  arrangements  for  groups;  but  a  variety  of  ar- 
rangements they  certainly  should  have  in  any 
scheme  not  intentionally  formal. 

Single  trees  or  shrubs  appear  to  great  advantage 
when  properly  placed,  and  if  in  all  respects  good, 
they  add  sensibly  to  the  composite  beauty  of  the 
scene.  A  single  plant  will  naturally  receive  more 
and  better  attention  when  standing  by  itself  than 
though  it  were  in  a  group  with  others.  For  this  rea- 
son it  should  have  greater  individual  excellence,  if 
possible.  It  should  be  faultless,  if  that  can  be. 
There  are  many  positions  about  any  extensive 
grounds  in  which  single  trees  or  shrubs  will  be  ac- 
ceptable units  of  the  composition.  The  judgment  of 
the  designer  must  point  these  out ;  but  we  may  take 
note  that  they  will  usually  be  comparatively  close  to 
the  observer,  so  that  the  single  plants  will  always 
be  under  critical  examination.  Such  places  are, 
then,  to  be  reserved  for  specially  choice  specimens. 
Any  rare  or  remarkable  plant, — not  monstrous  and 
deformed, — should  be  given  such  a  place  of  promi- 
nence. And  every  specimen  plant  should  be  remark- 
able for  its  individual  perfections  of  good  culture. 

There  are  a  great  many  general  and  common 
forms  given  to  groups,  but  their  classification  and 
discussion  do  not  belong  here.  It  is  sufficient  to 
iterate  that  this  is  another  point  at  which  conspicu- 
ous variety  is  both  possible  and  proper. 


VARIETY.  6 1 

There  are,  of  course,  some  objects  which  are  seen 
both  near  by  and  at  a  distance.  But  in  the  majority 
of  instances  an  object, — for  instance,  a  tree, — will  be 
most  often  seen  from  the  same  distance.  If  it  stand 
at  the  back  of  a  wood  belt,  with  numerous  smaller 
trees  between  it  and  the  distant  roadway,  it  may  be 
fairly  considered  in  the  background.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  it  stand  close  beside  a  much  frequented  path 
or  just  before  the  windows  of  the  living  room,  it  is 


Fig.    18.     GOOD    BACKGROUND,    GOOD    SKYLINE    AND    GOOD 
WATER    EFFECT. 


usually  seen  in  the  foreground.  Between  these  ex- 
tremes there  is  a  middle-ground  of  greater  or  less 
extent.  The  same  plant  gives  exceedingly  diverse 
effects  as  seen  in  these  three  different  positions. 

A  background  is  made  up  most  naturally  of  large 
trees.  Here  can  be  used  man}^  species  of  rough  and 
uncouth  growth  which  would  not  look  respectable 
at  close  range.  Trees  of  which  the  texture  is  so 
coarse  or  irregular  as  to  be  inadmissible  in  the  fore- 


62  .  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

ground,  seem  at  the  background  to  give  but  a  gentle 
touch  to  the  elsewise  unbroken  and  monotonous  sur- 
face. Trees  of  which  the  colors  would  jar  upon  a 
fastidious  eye  if  seen  too  close,  seem  modest  and 
pretty  at  a  greater  distance.  Moreover,  a  back- 
ground must  be  made  up  with  due  thought  to  the 
most  effectual  exhibition  of  whatever  lies  between 
it  and  the  observers.  For  this  reason  it  must  not 
have  a  bristling  sky  line  if  smooth  and  roundheaded 
smaller  trees  are  to  appear  in  front  of  it.  And  the 
opposite  mistake  must  be  guarded  against.  One 
time  with  another,  the  background  may  best  be 
darker  than  those  groups  which  intervene  between 
it  and  the  usual  point  of  view.  This  rule  cannot 
always  be  adhered  to,  for  it  would  force  all  dark 
colored  species  out  of  the  fore  and  middle-ground ;  but 
the  reverse  presentation  must  always  be  looked  upon 
as  an  undesirable  concession  to  other  necessities. 

In  the  foreground,  where  all  plants  are  under  com- 
paratively close  scrutiny,  only  those  should  be  used 
which  will  bear  such  examination.  Flowering 
shrubs  and  herbaceous  plants  may  be  used  here.  In 
most  cases  plants  for  the  foreground  must  be  small ; 
and  though  we  like  to  have  large  trees  next  the  walk 
so  that  we  can  enjoy  their  shade,  and  though  this 
demand  should  be  met,  to  a  degree,  yet  a  tree  so 
placed  adds  nothing  to  the  picture,  and  too  many 
such  trees  shut  off  the  view  entirely.  It  is  a  com- 
mon fault,  in  the  plantings  along  drives  and  walks,  that 
they  do  not  give  a  satisfactory  view  of  the  landscape. 

There  is  a  great  wealth  of  medium  sized  trees  and 
large  shrubs  which  look  well  in  middle-ground.  Of 
these  are  the  buckeyes,  altheas,  lilacs,  and  the  inter- 
esting koelreuteria.  The  middle-ground  is  an  ad- 
vantageous place  for  the  exhibition  of  all  tree  speci- 
mens. If  the  form  of  a  tree  specimen  is  to  be  ad- 
mired it  will  be  put  far  back  in  the  middle-ground  j 


VARIETY.  63 

if  it  is  the  beautiful  foliage,  it  will  come  to  the  nearer 
middle-ground.  Middle-ground  plantings  sometimes 
serve  the  purposes  of  background  to  foreground 
plantings;  but  this  is  not  often  the  case,  and  it  is  an 
undesirable  arrangement. 

It  not  infrequently  occurs  that  there  are  beautiful 
objects  visible  from  the  grounds  under  treatment 
and  yet  lying  wholly  outside  them.  It  may  be  moun- 
tain scenery,  a  lake,  a  view  of  the  ocean,  a  glimpse 
of  a  pretty  village,  or  any  other  exterior  object 
which  bears  an  interest  to  the  users  of  the  grounds 
but  which  is  itself  wholly  beyond  the  control  of  the 
designer.  Sometimes  these  exterior  objects  are  of 
case  with  a  small  plot  of  ground  lying  next  the 
ocean.  In  such  an  extreme  case  the  intelligent  gar- 
dener will  seek  to  make  his  entire  work  contribute 
to  enhance  the  beauty  or  effectiveness  of  the  chief 
even  greater  importance  than  all  the  grounds  upon 
which  the  gardener  has  to  work.  This  might  be  the 
though  exterior  view.  This  means,  of  course,  that 
all  his  effects  shall  be  subordinate  to  the  principal  in- 
terest. It  would  be  a  blameworthy  act  to  place  any- 
thing in  the  garden  which  would  draw  attention  to 
itself  and  away  from  the  outside  view.  In  any  case 
he  will  have  careful  regard  to  these  exterior  views, 
and  will  arrange  his  groupings  so  as  to  avail  himself 
of  whatever  extraneous  beauties  may  be  at  hand. 
This,  of  course,  means  the  leaving  of  open  vistas 
along  well-chosen  lines.  The  lines  which  are  thus 
to  be  left  open,  as  well  as  all  the  long  vistas  or  per- 
spectives which  are  to  be  preserved  inside  the 
grounds,  should  be  marked  first  on  the  engrossed 
plans,  and  as  the  plans  are  developed  on  the  paper 
all  obstructions  may  be  kept  off  them.  Again,  when 
the  plans  are  being  worked  out  on  the  grounds  these 
open  lines  should  be  carefully  marked  and  the  plant- 
ings kept  from  crowding  upon  them. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CHARACTER PROPRIETY. 

Two  qualities  usually  distinguish  professional  from  amateur 
productions — simplicity  and  breadth  of  treatment. 

Ed.  Andre. 

L'espressione  esagerata  o  negletta  constituisce.  .  .  .  due 
difetti  oppositi,  il  barocco,  ed  il  secco  o  freddo,  tra  i  quali 
procede   amabile  la  semplicita.  F.   Cartolano. 

Character  is  the  most  elusive  quality  of  all  those 
with  which  we  deal.  Almost  all  writers  on  garden- 
ing have  talked  more  or  less  of  character,  assuming 
it  as  a  quality,  but  never  approaching  a  definition  or 
an  explanation.  Thomas  Wheatley  did,  in  fact,  long 
ago  introduce  a  chapter  "Of  Character"  into  his 
remarkably  clear  analytical  outline ;  but  the  chapter 
treated  of  subjects  quite  different  from  those  dis- 
cussed here.  If  I  may  venture  on  the  dangerous  ex- 
periment of  a  provisional  definition,  I  will  say  that 
I  intend  to  suggest  by  the  term  character  those  more 
delicate  distinctions  in  the  general  method  of  treat- 
ment, such  as  may  mark  one  composition  from  an- 
other, even  of  the  same  general  style.  We  under- 
stand clearly  what  is  meant  by  character  in  a  man 
or  woman,  and  I  should  like  to  transfer  this  notion 
undisturbed  to  use  in  the  descriptions  of  gardens. 
It  is  a  common  saying  that  the  face  of  such  and  such 
an  acquaintance  is  pretty  but  it  lacks  character.  It 
is  perfectly  conceivable  that  a  garden  might  be 
faultless  in  the  unity  and  the  harmony  of  its  appoint- 
ments, with  everything  beautiful  and  appropriate 
withal,  and  yet  lack  character. 

In  different  words,  we  might  say  that  character 
is  the  personal  impress  of  the  designer.  Thus  we 
would  never  expect  a  poem  of  pure  and  lofty  char- 
es 


CHARACTER PROPRIETY.  65 

acter  to  flow  from  a  wicked  heart.  We  would  not 
expect  a  painting  of  great  power  to  originate  in  a 
dull,  unsensitive  mind.  No  more  can  we  hope  to  see 
vigor  and  dignity  displayed  in  a  garden  designed  by 
a  weak  and  puerile  author.  In  this  close  and  proper 
connection  of  the  character  of  the  garden  with  the 
character  of  its  designer  we  may  perhaps  more 
clearly  understand  its  present  signification. 

Certain  terms  are  commonly  associated  in  criti- 
cism of  gardens,  such  as  simplicity,  dignity,  bold- 
ness, and  others.  These  I  take  to  represent  different 
types  of  character.  I  think  this  is  the  use  commonly 
made  by  those  who  apply  them  to  art  compositions, 
even  though  those  who  use  them  thus  have  never 
stopped  to  generalize  under  any  common  term  the 
qualities  expressed.  These  terms,  simplicity,  dig- 
nity, and  boldness,  are  sufficiently  suggestive  of  cer- 
tain characters.  This  list  is  not  intended  to  be  com- 
plete, for,  theoretically  at  least,  there  may  be  an 
indefinite  variety  of  character.  The  term  complex- 
ity is  added  to  the  list  only  because  it  seems  to  be 
implied  in  simplicity.  Perhaps  elaborateness  would 
be  preferred  to  complexity  as  a  term  for  a  more 
careful  classification. 

Between  the  terms  propriety  and  appropriateness 
it  is  hard  to  choose  the  better.  The  latter  is  the 
more  explicit  in  its  suggestions,  but  the  former  has 
the  advantage  of  brevity  and  of  good  associations, 
which  I  think  ought  to  be  operative  in  our  criticisms 
of  taste  in  gardening.  For  as  we  inquire  whether 
this  or  that  social  appointment  is  marked  by  strict 
propriety,  so  ought  we  to  criticise  the  items  of  the 
gardener's  work.  It  must  be  said  that  such  criti- 
cism is  sorely  needed,  and  that  many  gardeners  of 
some  reputation  seem  never  to  have  reflected  that 
such  a  test  as  propriety  can  be  applied  to  their  work. 
Our  American  cemeteries  are  often  striking  exem- 


66  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

plifications  of  this  statement.  In  them  one  contin- 
ually meets  objects  of  such  childish  conception,  such 
incongruous  effect  or  such  gaudy  color,  as  to  jar  on 
nerves  of  any  appreciative  sensitiveness  Much  has 
recently  been  said  and  written  on  the  subject  of 
cemetery  ornamentation,  and  we  may  assume  that 
we  are  on  the  way  to  inculcate  a  better  taste  in  this 
respect.  Although  every  tenet  of  gardening  art  is 
habitually  violated  in  our  cemeteries,  the  most  com- 
mon and  disagreeable  violations  are  doubtless  in- 
stances of  disregard  for  propriety.  The  matters  in- 
troduced are  not  appropriate  to  the  place. 

But  this  is  only  a  single  class  of  improprieties, 
and  is  mentioned  chiefly  for  illustration.  Propriety 
is  a  universal  test.  Every  object  and  group  of 
objects  must  submit  to  it.  Thus  we  would  often 
consider  an  aviary,  or  a  zoological  collection,  or  a 
suite  of  dog  kennels  inadmissible  in  a  garden  be- 
cause they  were  inappropriate  to  the  surroundings, 
even  though  they  might  be  in  themselves  beautiful 
and  interesting. 

I  wish  to  speak  here  again  of  a  particular  class  of 
improprieties  to  which  I  have  already  alluded, 
namely,  the  prominent  display  of  monstrous  or  de- 
formed horticultural  specimens.  Deformity  and 
monstrosity  have  a  strange  fascination  to  uncul- 
tured minds ;  and  there  is  no  more  unequivocal  testi- 
mony to  a  general  poverty  of  cultivated  taste  in 
gardening  than  the  constantly  recurring  sight  of 
such  disfigurements  in  the  gardens  of  people  whose 
houses  are  furnished  inside  with  scrupulous  taste 
and  propriety.  It  is  surpassingly  strange  that  the 
city  resident,  who  has  room  between  his  house  and 
the  street  for  only  a  single  specimen,  will  choose  for 
that  position  the  one  plant  which  offers  the  most 
blemishes,  as  though  ^sop  were  better  to  look  upon 
than  Apollo.    The  commonest  vagary  of  this  sort  is 


CHARACTER — PROPRIETY.  67 

the  little  weeping  tree,  in  which  the  writhing 
agonies  of  one  monstrous  variety  are  grafted  on  the 
top  of  some  straight,  courageous  stock  for  better 
exhibition.  As  one  passes  along  a  residence  street 
in  almost  any  town  seeking  something  in  the  gar- 
dens to  admire,  how  often  must  he  decide  that  this 
and  that  plant  was  used  for  its  striking  incongrui- 
ties, rather  than  for  its  special  appropriateness.  It 
seems  to  the  present  scribe  that  propriety  is  the  one 
thing  to  be  chiefly  studied  by  that  large  and  needy 
class  of  Americans  who  have  houses  of  their  own 
with  small  grounds  attached. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FINISH. 

Both  richness  and  polish  will,  to  a  certain  extent,  be  the 
result  of  keeping.  .  .  .  Extreme  thinness  of  plants  in  beds 
skirting  a  lawn,  an  inferior  order  of  plants  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  house  or  by  the  sides  of  the  grass  glades,  and  the  use 
of  commonplace  or  uncongenial  ornaments,  are  inconsistent  with 
richness.  Edward  Kemp. 

No  one  will  have  read  so  far  as  this  chapter  with- 
out having  observed  the  outline  which  the  text  at- 
tempts to  follow.  As  indicated  in  that  outline,  it 
has  been  conceived  that  there  are  five  distinct  artistic 
qualities,  in  which  any  ornamental  planting  may  be 
good  or  bad.  These  are  unity,  variety,  character, 
propriety  and  finish.  These  are  all  in  some  degree 
essential ;  but  it  will  strike  the  reader  at  once  that 
they  are  not  all  equally  important.  Those  things 
which  are  here  included  under  the  unsatisfactory 
term  "finish,"  are  not  of  such  paramount  and  con- 
tinual necessity  as  those  discussed  under  unity,  for 
instance.  And  yet  one  may  understand,  without 
puzzling,  that  any  sort  of  an  art  composition  may 
answer  all  the  requirements  thus  far  set  forth,  and 
yet  fail  to  yield  a  due  satisfaction  because  it  lacks 
a  painstaking  finish.  Besides,  one  may  note  this 
defect  in  the  concrete  only  too  easily  among  pic- 
tures, books  or  landscapes. 

In  gardening,  finish  means  several  things,  some  of 
which  we  may  designate  here.  In  the  first  place, 
it  requires  good  specimens.  All  the  plants  employed 
must  be  good  of  their  kind ;  the  minor  groups  must 
be  good;  and  the  masses  must  be  good.  The  indi- 
vidual plants  must  be  excellent  in  proportion  to  their 
conspicuousness.  If  a  single  specimen  of  some  rare 
and  striking  species  stand  in  a  prominent  place,  it 


FINISH.  69 

cannot  be  permitted  to  wear  a  decrepit,  unthrifty, 
untidy  appearance.  But  besides  this,  it  should  have 
positive  excellence  to  its  credit.  It  should  be  a  plant 
v^orth  seeing,  not  merely  as  a  botanical  curiosity, 
but  as  an  example  of  nature's  best  work. 

Good  care  is  required  to  keep  trees  thrifty,  to  keep 
plants  growing  vigorously  and  luxuriantly.  Culti- 
vation and  manure  are  needed.  Pruning  must  be 
done.  Crowded  clumps  must  be  thinned  out. 
Sheared  trees  must  be  kept  sheared,  and  mowed 
lawns  must  be  kept  mowed.  The  walks  and  drives 
must  be  kept  graded  and  surfaced  and  free  from 
weeds.  Buildings  must  be  kept  painted,  and  fences 
put  together  and  standing  straight.  And  dozens  of 
similar  matters  demand  constant  attention,  or 
directly  the  finish  of  the  composition  is  marred  and 
its  whole  effectiveness  diminished. 

Perhaps  cleanliness  is  only  a  matter  of  good  care; 
but  it  sometimes  happens  that  a  gardener  becomes 
so  absorbed  in  taking  good  care  of  his  shrubs  and 
flower  beds  that  he  forgets  the  general  cleanliness 
of  his  grounds.  In  public  parks  the  lawns  and  walks 
rapidly  become  littered  with  papers  and  rubbish 
of  all  sorts,  and  this  may  quickly  reach  such  a  point 
as  to  interfere  seriously  with  the  satisfaction  of  the 
park  habitues.  In  the  farm  yard,  where  good  at- 
tempts at  ornamental  gardening  are  often  made, 
a  proper  regard  for  cleanliness  would  suggest  that 
a  wheelbarrow  should  not  be  left  standing  in  front 
of  the  house  unused  for  a  week,  and  that  chicken 
coops,  dog  kennels,  grindstones  and  other  agricultural 
paraphernalia  should  be  put  behind  the  main  dwelling 
house,  or  at  least  kept  off  the  lawn.  On  any  grounds 
more  or  less  litter  is  bound  to  accumulate,  and  this  may 
readily  amount  to  enough  to  spoil  the  best  studied 
effect  of  unity,  variety,  character  and  propriety. 

Yet  after  the  landscape  gardener  has  done  every- 


70  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

thing  within  his  power,  has  gathered  the  last  item  of 
horticultural  excellence,  and  has  disposed  of  it  with 
the  artist's  happiest  effect,  he  is  still  dependent,  in 
a  very  great  measure,  on  the  favor  of  the  unman- 
ageable elements  for  the  pleasure  he  may  give  his 
patrons.  No  one  will  see  a  delicately  penciled  sky 
line  or  a  softly  harmonized  background  through  a 
blinding  dust  storm ;  and  a  bed  of  finest  roses  is  apt  to 
look  very  sorry  and  drabbled  in  the  midst  of  a  cold  rain. 
Differences  in  sunshine,  light  and  atmosphere  make 
very  surprising  differences  in  the  effect  of  certain 
views ;  and  as  far  as  possible,  all  this  should  be  taken 
into  account  by  the  gardener  when  he  makes  his  plan. 
And  besides  the  modifying  influence  which  light 
and  atmosphere  exercise  on  landscape  views,  they 
are  themselves  often  a  very  important  part  of  the 
picture.  Who  cares  to  look  at  anything  else  on  a 
day  when  an  early,  feathery  snow  fills  the  buoyant 
atmosphere  with  a  delightful,  softening,  luminous, 
hush-compelling  haze?  And  sometimes  there  are 
clouds  and  a  sunset  as  beautiful  as  the  woods  or  as 
sublime  as  the  ocean.  These  do  not  belong  to  the 
gardener,  but  they  may  fit  into  his  picture,  and  en- 
hance the  pleasure  which  it  gives ;  and  shall  he  not 
appropriate  whatever  of  them  he  can?  Everyone 
knows  that  the  landscape  painter  spends  his  chief- 
est  pains  to  give  accurate  representations  and  stir- 
ring suggestions  of  light  and  atmosphere ;  but  the 
landscape  gardener  has  the  real  commodities  in 
unmeasured,  ever-shifting  variety.  Let  him  make 
all  possible  use  of  them,  and  if  the  elements  are 
commonly  unpropitious,  as  they  are  in  some  coun- 
tries, he  may  have  his  proper  doubts  about  the  prac- 
ticability of  undertaking  any  gardening  plans  at  all. 
Fortunately  almost  every  country,  whatever  its 
shortcomings,  has  some  good  qualities*  of  climate 
which  may  be  studied  and  turned  to  advantage. 


PART  III. 


General  Problems 


y 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ENTRANCES,    DRIVES   AND    WALKS. 

For  an  approach  to  be  good  there  must  be  an  easy  turn-in 
from  the  high  road;  the  grade  within  the  gate  must  be  as  uni- 
form and  as  gentle  as  possible;  there  must  be  no  sharp  turns; 
the  house  must  be  well  displayed  to  advancing  eyes; 
and  the  line  of  gravel  must  not  so  intersect  the  ground  as  to 
interfere  with  a  beautiful  arrangement  of  its  parts,  or  to  be  itself 
a  disagreeable  object  when  seen   from  the  house. 

yirs.  Van  Rensselaer, 

The  orator  takes  great  pains  that  his  exordium 
shall  be  at  once  a  fitting  introduction  to  his  oration 
and  calculated  to  win  the  favor  of  his  audience.  The 
composer  of  an  opera  gives  special  care  to  his  over- 
ture, endeavoring  to  introduce  the  best  themes  of 
the  subsequent  score,  and  to  make  an  agreeable  im- 
pression on  his  hearers.  In  the  same  way,  when 
a  landscape  gardener  plans  a  considerable  picture 
he  tries  to  arrange  it  so  that  the  approaching  visi- 
tor shall  get  not  only  a  prejudice  in  its  favor,  but 
also  a  fair  suggestion  of  its  character.  Among 
farmers  who  try  to  arrange  their  homes  tastefully, 
and  among  people  who  have  summer  residences  in 
the  country,  the  importance  of  an  appropriate  ap- 
proach is  quite  generally  felt.  In  some  other  lines 
of  work, — park-making,  for  example, — it  is  some- 
times underestimated. 

When  the  grounds  are  of  any  considerable  size 
there  ought  to  be  an  adequate  (undefined)  entrance 
area.  The  entrance  is  of  some  importance  in  itself, 
and  other  items  in  its  immediate  neighborhood  may 
best  be  made  subordinate  to  it.  Usually  this  area 
will  be  more  or  less  enlarged  by  being  recessed  from 
the  outside.  This  emphasizes  the  entrance,  makes 
it  seem  more  hospitably  inviting,  g  ives  room  for  a 

73 


74 


LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 


carriage  turn,  etc.  Usually  there  will  be  a  gate- 
way of  some  sort;  and  if  the  vicinity,  outside  or  in- 
side, is  full  of  buildings,  the  design  of  the  entrance 
will  probably  be  architectural  in  its  main  features. 
There  is  such  an  infinite  variety  of  architectural 
ideas  to  be  worked  out  for  such  places  that  no  gen- 
eral suggestions  can  be  made.  For  country  places, 
where  the  entrance  is  made  among  purely  natural 
surroundings,  considerably  less  of  architectural 
effect  is  permissible.  Some  very  simple,  substan- 
tial stone  work  is  usually  best.  Downing,  and  the 
people  of  his  day,  always  affected  '"rustic"  work — 

poles  with  the  bark 
on — for  such  places ; 
and  though  these 
sometimes  give  a 
satisfactory  result 
they  are  much  less 
in  vogue  at  the 
present. 

It  is  quite  cus- 
tomary to  make  the 
turn-in  especially  on 
moderate  sized 
places,  at  right  angles  with  the  exterior  highway. 
While  this  arrangement  is  often  best,  it  might  be 
greatly  improved,  in  many  cases,  by  substituting  a 
less  abrupt  turn.  The  main  drive  may  frequently  be 
arranged  to  leave  the  public  way  very  gently  at  an 
acute  angle. 

From  the  entrance  to  the  house  or  other  main 
point  of  interest  the  driye  should  proceed  as  directly 
as  possible,  and  still  be  gracefully  curved.  Its 
course  and  direction  will  be  modified  chiefly  by  the 
contour  of  the  ground.  Sharp  elevations  or  depres- 
sions must  be  alike  avoided,  by  carrying  the  drive 
around  them;  but  the  grade  of  the  drive  must  be 


Fig.    19.     Street    Entrance. 
Destination   unrevealed. 


ENTRANCES,  DRIVES   AND   WALKS.  75 

compromised  sometimes  with  the  course  to  be 
adopted,  and  nothing  will  take  the  place  of  good 
judgment  in  doing  this.  The  curve  should  be  gentle 
and  not  winding.  It  should  reveal  something  new 
at  each  turn.  The  best  view  of  the  house  should 
be  carefully  treated.  Its  own  effect  should  be 
reserved  to  it,  and  not  squandered  on  a  half  dozen 
unimpressive  and  inadequate  views.  If  the  drive 
gives  one  good  view,  the  poor  views  ought  to  be 
hidden  by  plantings  or  by  the  course  of  the  road. 

For  very  large  and  stately  mansions,  or  in  com- 
paratively   small    grounds,    the    approach    may    be 


""f^mrf^i 


Fig.  20.     SIMPLE  FORMAL  PARK  ENTRANCE,  BALTIMORE. 

Straight  and  lead  directly  to  the  front  of  the  main 
building.  Such  an  arrangement  lends  dignity  to  a 
building  which  is  in  itself  imposing.  Such  an  ave- 
nue of  approach  is  usually  planted  with  rows  of 
trees.  Other  drives,  besides  the  main  approach,  may 
be  treated  in  the  same  general  way  as  walks. 

Walks  and  subsidiary  drives  must  be  provided 
where  people  want  to  walk  or  where  they  expect  to 
drive.  Neither  is  artistic  in  itself.  Every  foot  of 
walk  or  drive  is  a  trouble,  an  expense,  and  usually  a 
distinct  detraction  from  the  artistic  beauty  of  the 
place.  They  should,  then,  be  designed  to  fit  the 
actual  demands  of  traffic  about  the  place.  The  most 
practicable  thing  is  often  to  await  the  most  explicit 


76  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

call  for  a  walk.  When  a  path  begins  to  appear 
through  the  grass,  the  need  of  a  walk  is  manifest 
and  its  general  direction  pretty  accurately  indicated. 
Gentle  curves  are  better  than  straight  lines,  for 
walks,  except  upon  small  places  or  in  a  geometrical 
plan.  These  curves  must  be  determined  by  the 
exercise  of  good  taste  and  judgment,  on  the  ground. 
A  design  made  on  paper  is  apt  to  be  very  unsatis- 
factor}^  when  transferred  to  the  soil,  unless  it  is 
made  by  an  experienced  hand  from  an  accurate 
topographical  survey.  Even  then  it  may  not  fit. 
Curves  made  up  of  arcs  of  circles  are  not  very 
satisfactory,  unless  the  arcs  are  comparatively  short 
and  judiciously  combined.     If  a   road   is   properly 


Fig.  21.     DIVERGING  DRIVES. 
a.  Correct,     b.  Wrong. 

made,  only  a  very  short  arc  will  be  visible  from  any 
point ;  and  this  enables  the  designer,  when  working 
on  the  ground,  to  make  many  curves  and  combina- 
tions of  curves  which  would  be  decidedly  unpleasing 
when  accurately  platted  on  a  map. 

When  a  walk  or  a  drive  branches,  each  arm  should 
take  such  a  course  as  to  appear  to  be  the  proper 
continuation  of  the  trunk.  Imagine  how  one  arm 
would  look  with  the  other  removed.  Would  it  still 
be  complete?  Would  the  whole  seem  to  be  the 
perfectly  natural  course  for  the  walk?  Such  bifurca- 
tions should  not  be  at  too  obtuse  an  angle ;  and  yet 
this  angle  of  divergence  is  of  quite  minor  importance 
if  the  foregoing  consideration  is  kept  fully  in  mind. 

Where  several  drives  or  walks  meet,  upon  de- 
mand, a  suitable  concourse  must  be  provided,  for 


ENTRANCES,    DRIVES    AND    WALKS.  ']'] 

at  such  points  there  is  always  apt  to  be  a  conges- 
tion of  traffic.  The  size  and  form  of  this  concourse 
is  determined  solely  by  circumstances.  Sometimes 
such  a  spot  commands  some  specially  fine  view.  The 
place  may  be  treated,  then,  with  direct  regard  to 
the  outlook.  When  no  desirable  external  view  is  to 
be  exhibited,  the  concourse  area  may  have  a  special 
treatment  of  its  own.  It  may  be  flanked  by  heavy 
plantings  on  part  of  its  circumference,  with  open 
vistas  left  at  the  most  favorable  points.  Or,  if  near 
a  building,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  it  may  be 
treated  as  an  outlying  part  of  the  architect's  work, 
and  made  to  conform  to  it  in  shape  and  ornamenta- 
tion. 

Walks  must  be  well  drained,  but  should  not  rise 
above  the  adjacent  soil  surface.  Neither  should 
they  be  depressed  much,  if  any,  below  it,  except 
for  the  necessary  gutter  at  the  edges.  The  practi- 
cal construction  of  walks  and  drives  is  a  matter  of 
immense  importance,  but  it  belongs  rather  to  en- 
gineering than  to  landscape  gardening,  and  besides, 
there  is  not  room  here  for  a  discussion  of  it.  The 
principal  artistic  demands  have,  however,  been 
pointed  out. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  PLANTING  OF  STREETS  AND  AVENUES. 

The  villages  of  New  England,  looking  at  their  sylvan  charms, 
are  as  beautiful  as  any  in  the  world.  Their  architecture  is  sim- 
ple and  unpretending, — often,  indeed,  meager  and  unworthy  of 
notice.  The  houses  are  surrounded  by  inclosures  full  of  trees 
and  shrubs,  with  space  enough  to  afford  comfort,  and  ornament 
enough  to  denote  taste.  But  the  main  street  of  the  village  is 
an  avenue  of  elms,  positively  delightful  to  behold.  Always  wide, 
the  overreaching  boughs  form  an  aisle  more  grand  and  beauti- 
ful than  that  of  any  old  Gothic  cathedral. 

A.  J.  Downing, 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  treatment  of 
streets,  saying  that  streets  and  avenues,  since  they 
manifestly  follow  geometrical  lines,  demand  a  for- 
mal treatment.  And  this  formality  ought  to  go 
further  than  the  mere  alignment  of  the  trees.  It  is 
still  more  important  that  the  various  trees  should 
be  of  the  same  species  and  of  the  same  age  and 
uniformly  developed.  Not  enough  pains  is  com- 
monly taken  to  secure  these  desiderata.  One  can 
easily  satisfy  himself  by  his  own  observations  any- 
where in  the  United  States  that,  while  street  trees 
are  nearly  always  planted  in  orderly  rows,  it  is  the 
somewhat  rare  exception  to  find  a  row  of  really 
good  and  uniform  specimens.  Such  uniformity  is 
not  easy  to  secure,  especially  when  its  importance 
is  not  understood  at  the  outset.  The  only  advice 
which  can  be  given  is  to  exercise  great  care  in  plant- 
ing and  the  utmost  vigilance  during  the  early  years 
of  development. 

An  explanation  of  frequent  cases  of  unsatisfac- 
tory growth  of  young  street  trees  is  to  be  sought  in 
the  inadequate  feeding  given  them.  If  they  grow 
close  to  the  street  on  one  side  and  to  a  paved  walk 

V8 


PLANTING   STREETS  AND  AVENUES.  79 

or  row  of  buildings  on  the  other,  their  roots  must 
of  course  ramify  for  many  feet  underneath  these 
surface  obstructions.  Aside  from  this  the  soil  is 
apt  to  be  of  the  poorest.  It  is  hardly  to  be  expected, 
in  such  circumstances,  that  a  thrifty  growth  can  be 
secured  without  something  being  done  to  offset 
these  drawbacks.  Liberal  supplies  of  fertilizers, 
especially  potash  salts  and  nitrates,  ought  to  be 
worked  into  the  soil  whenever  the  surface  is  accessi- 
ble. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  set  street  trees  rather  close 
together  in  the  beginning,  and  to  thin  them  as  they 
grow  and  begin  to  crowd.  This  plan,  however,  de- 
mands very  conscientious  attention  to  the  thinning, 
for  sometimes  it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  heroism 
to  cut  out  strong,  thrifty  trees  along  the  avenue  when 
they  are  only  beginning  to  crowd  their  neighbors 
just  a  little.  But  any  undue  procrastination  is  sure 
to  damage  the  survivors  very  seriously. 

The  distance  between  trees  in  the  row  will  be 
influenced  somewhat  by  the  width  of  the  street.  In 
a  wide  street,  where  there  is  room  enough  for  the 
full  development  of  each  tree,  they  will  be  planted 
farther  apart.  If  the  street  is  wide  enough,  the  trees 
should  always  stand  between  the  walk  and  the  curb, 
it  is  wide  enough  if,  from  curb  to  curb,  the  width  is 
one  and  a  half  times  the  distance  recommended  for 
the  trees  in  the  rows.  On  a  narrower  street,  trees 
should  stand  between  the  walk  and  the  buildings  or 
should  be  dispensed  with.  There  are  many  beauti- 
ful streets  in  this  country  which  support  four  rows 
of  trees.  Such  streets  should  have  the  central  ave- 
nue twice  as  wide  as  the  distance  between  trees  in 
the  row;  and  the  distance  between  the  two  rows  on 
either  side  should  be  somewhat  less  than  that 
between  trees. 

If,  now,  we  are  seeking  a  formal  effect  in  our  rows 


8o 


LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 


Fig.  22.     A  WELL-PLANTED  STREET.     ROYAL  PALMS,  NEAR  HAVANA. 


PLANTING    STREETS   AND   AVENUES.  Si 

o£  Street  trees,  it  follows  that  this  effect  will  be  em- 
phasized by  trees  which  naturally  assume  some- 
what formal  shapes.  It  will  not  do  to  press  this 
point  too  far,  but  it  should  have  careful  thought. 
We  have  all  seen  strikingly  beautiful  rows  of  the 
very  formal  Lombardy  poplar,  and  the  effect  of 
dignity  given  by  an  avenue  of  palms  leaves  an  im- 
pression not  to  be  forgotten. 

The  American  elm  is  doubtless  the  commonest 
street  tree  in  America.  It  has  many  undeniably 
good  qualities  to  recommend  it.  The  grounds  about 
Harvard  and  Yale  could  not  possibly  spare  their 
rows  of  elms,  and  there  are  hundreds  of  other 
streets  in  all  parts  of  the  country  which  would  be 
desolate  indeed  if  all  the  elms  had  to  go.  And  yet 
there  are  serious  objections  to  the  elm  as  a  street 
tree,  besides  the  fact  that  it  is  often  defoliated  by 
caterpillars  of  various  species,  as,  indeed,  are  many 
other  trees.  The  elm  varies  greatly  in  size  and  form, 
and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  find  a  long  street 
of  old  elms  which  does  not  suffer  from  the  sad  lack 
of  uniformity  which  this  variability  introduces.  The 
elm  is,  also,  one  of  the  least  formal  of  our  trees,  and 
so  detracts  from  the  unity  of  the  geometrical  idea 
in  street  planting.  It  would  be  silly  to  advise  plant- 
ers to  discard  the  el/n  altogether;  but  it  will  not  be 
too  much  to  suggest  that  some  other  species  should 
always  be  duly  considered. 

The  maples  are  excellent  street  trees,  especially 
the  sugar  maple,  and  many  admirable  examples  of 
their  effectiveness  are  to  be  found  in  the  northern 
states.  The  sugar  maple  is  a  strong,  healthy  grower, 
with  a  regular,  clear-cut  outline,  and  has  the  advan- 
tage of  a  very  tidy  appearance  through  the  winter 
months.  In  southwestern  states  the  soft  maple,  or 
silver  maple  (Acer  dasycarpum),  takes  the  place  of  the 
sugar  maple,  but  is  not  so  good  a  tree. 


82  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

The  American  sycamore  is  one  of  our  finest  street 
trees  in  many  situations.  Anyone  who  does  not 
know  how  beautiful  this  species  is  should  study 
the  effects  produced  by  it  in  Washington,  especially 
in  the  magnificent  avenues  just  west  of  the  Capitol. 
The  sycamore  does  not  succeed  north  of  Massachu- 
setts and  central  New  York,  but  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  United  States  it  is  worth  careful  considera- 
tion. 

Other  species  which  are  sometimes  used  with 
happy  results  are  honey  locust,  Kentucky  coffee  tree, 
pines  and  spruces.  There  is  a  most  striking  and 
beautiful  avenue  of  ginkgo  trees  in  Washington 
leading  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture  ;  and  there 
are  some  pretty  rows  of  ailanthus  about  the  Temple 
square  in  Salt  Lake  City.  Occasionally  one  will 
find  an  avenue  of  oaks,  and  if  it  is  a  good  one  there 
are  few  trees  more  satisfactory.  Poplars,  especially 
the  Cottonwood,  are  used  in  the  trans-Mississippi 
states,  but  they  are  usually  a  poor  makeshift.  It  is 
always  very  gratifying  to  find  a  good  street  of  trees 
of  an  unusual  species,  and  this  is  a  thing  which  the 
street  makers  might  well  hold  in  remembrance. 


CHAPTER  XL 

WATER^  AND  ITS  TREATMENT. 

The  water  surfaces  of  a  park  need  more  study  and  care  t« 
make  them  appear  natural  in  outline  than  does  the  general 
ground  surface  of  the  park.  John   C.  Olmsted. 

Spaces  of  clear  surface  among  water  plants,  with  undisturbed 
reflections,   are   particularly   necessary  to   secure  the   best   effects. 

Samuel  Parsons,  Jr. 

The  artistic  possibilities  of  any  place  are  almost 
doubled  with  the  introduction  of  a  fair  amount  of 
water  surface.  Water  gardening  gives  room  for 
almost  as  rich  a  variety  of  plants  and  plant  combina- 
tions as  does  the  open  ground.  There  are  still 
ponds,  broad  reaches  of  river,  trickling  brooks,  play- 
ing fountains,  and  many  other  general  forms  of  ex- 
pression which  water  may  assume ;  and  in  each  case 
new  opportunities  are  offered  to  the  plant  lover. 

The  water  itself  is  one  of  the  most  effective  ele- 
ments of  any  picture.  A  painted  landscape  is  hardly 
complete  without  a  touch  of  water  somewhere.  And 
a  public  park  would  probably  be  considered  seri- 
ously deficient  without  some  kind  of  a  lake.  The 
restful  and  quieting  influences  of  rural  scenery  are 
peculiarly  enhanced  by  stretches  of  still  water.  The 
very  best  effect  is  gained  when  the  grounds  are  so 
fortunately  situated  as  to  give  a  good  view  of  a  long 
reach  of  river,  or  a  broad  lake,  or  of  the  ocean.  This 
consideration  is  so  cogent  as  to  determine  the  loca- 
tion of  a  very  large  proportion  of  summer  residences. 
They  seem  to  be  gregarious  along  the  seaside  and 
on  all  the  lake  shores.  This  effectiveness  of  water 
pictures  rests  upon  a  primitive  human  instinct  which 
has  been  strengthened  rather  than  impaired  by  the 
conventions  of  civilization.    For  every  reason,  then, 

83 


§4 


LANDSCAPE   GARDENINO, 


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WATER   AND   ITS   TREATMENT.  85 

Stress  must  be  laid  upon  the  value  of  such  water 
views.  They  must  be  sought,  preserved  and  sym- 
pathetically displayed. 

When  the  point  of  view  is  at  the  water's  edge  the 
water  forms  the  entire  picture, — excepting,  of 
course,  the  background  of  trees  or  mountains  which 
may  be  beyond  it.  But  when,  as  usual,  the  house, 
or  the  path,  or  the  drive  is  some  distance  from  the 
shore,  the  treatment  of  the  intervening  foreground 
becomes  a  delicate  and  important  matter.  The 
gardener  who  would  plant  a  coleus  bed  on  the  sea 
beach  would  properly  be  sent  to  the  insane  asylum ; 
but  any  other  gaudy  or  trivial  piece  of  work  put 
into  the  foreground  would  be  as  inexcusable.  To 
give  the  water  best  effect  the  space  between  it  and 
the  observer  should  be  obstructed  the  least  possi- 
ble. Usually  it  will  be  in  grass.  It  will  be  only 
moderately  undulating.  A  perfectly  flat  surface  and 
broken  ground  are  equally  to  be  avoided.  The  view 
should  then  be  set  off  at  the  sides  by  large  trees, 
if  possible.  Nothing  else  answers  quite  so  well.  If 
they  can  be  arranged  so  as  to  be  seen  in  a  long  and 
varied  perspective,  they  will  be  the  more  satisfac- 
tory. It  is  impossible  to  give  an  exact  prescription 
for  the  treatment  of  all  such  cases,  for  a  good  result 
depends  on  the  tasteful  management  of  delicate  de- 
tails ;  and  yet,  in  the  greater  number  of  these  very 
common  water  views,  the  landscape  gardener  has 
choice  of  only  a  limited  number  of  devices,  the 
principal  considerations  of  which  have  here  been 
pointed  out. 

*rhe  small  pond,  comprehended  entirely  within  the 
grbunds  under  treatment,  offers  quite  another  series 
of  problems.  If  it  is  large  enough  to  give  some 
pictorial  effect,  there  will  naturally  be  arranged  a 
series  of  glimpses  and  completer  views  from  various 
advantageous  points,  mostly  near  its  banks.    These 


86 


LANDSCAPE   GARDENINC. 


WATER    AND    ITS    TREATMENT.  8/ 

will,  however,  be  chiefly  glimpses,  and  are  to  be 
treated  accordingly, — not  with  the  same  dignity  and 
seriousness  which  are  given  to  larger  views,  though 
in  general  the  plan  of  treatment  will  be  a  sort  of 
miniature  of  that  already  described. 

Besides  this,  the  small  pond  offers  wonderful  op- 
portunities for  planting.  Sedges,  cat-tails,  lotuses, 
water  lilies,  alders  and  many  other  plants  are  espe- 
cially suitable  to  the  banks  and  shallow  water  of 
ponds.  Very  fine  effects  can  be  arranged  with  them. 
The  outline  of  a  pond  may  be  tastefully  broken,  so 
that  what  would  otherwise  look  like  a  mere  cup  in 
the  ground  becomes  a  necessary  and  integral  part  of 
the  whole  composition.  The  grass  should  come 
down  to  the  water  in  places.  In  other  parts  a  fringe 
of  overhanging  alders  may  form  the  outline.  Still 
further  along  the  sedges  and  cat-tails  may  jut  far 
out  into  the  still  water.  It  is  hard  to  spoil  such  a 
picture. 

If  some  of  the  trees  along  the  pond  shore  are  situ- 
ated so  as  to  cast  their  reflections  upon  the  water, 
their  effect  will  be  more  than  doubled.  Everyone 
knows  what  a  pleasing  touch  such  reflections  give 
to  a  picture.  But  the  trees  must  not  be  of  the  un- 
quiet sort,  like  some  of  the  willows,  always  shiver- 
ing and  shimmering  in  the  breeze,  for  the  pond 
must  be  still  and  the  images  on  its  surface  must  be 
still.  It  is  the  quietness  and  peacefulness  of  such  a 
picture  which  attract  us,  and  we  are  very  sensitive 
of  even  the  slightest  interference.  And  yet  some  of 
the  statelier  willows,  especially  the  heavier  weep- 
ing willows,  make  excellent  pond  borders.  Ash 
trees  and  sycamores  with  thorns,  and  viburnums, 
and  many  more  such  things,  enter  helpfully  into 
such  effects. 

The  small  rivulet  does  not  seem  to  enjoy  the  favor 
which  its  comparative  merits  would  justify.    It  can- 


88 


LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 


WATER   AND   ITS   TREATMENT.  89 

not  become  a  part  of  the  same  sedate  and  serious 
pictures  which  depend  so  much  on  large  sheets  of 
water;  but  it  has  an  equal  degree  of  efficiency  in  its 
own  way.  When  the  landscape  approaches  that 
character  which  Andre  calls  ''gay,"*  nothing  can 
be  more  appropriate  than  the  glancing,  glimmer- 
ing, vanishing,  changing  glimpses  of  running  water 
in  a  small  brook.  Such  a  brook  should  be  wooded, 
and  among  the  trees  should  be  loose  tangles  of 
vines,  shrubbery,  brambles  and  brakes.  Rocky  im- 
pediments in  the  bed  of  the  brook,  if  the  character 
of  the  ground  will  justify  them,  give  little,  tinkling 
cascades  where  the  sunlight  flashes.  Here  and  there 
a  calmer  pool  may  grow  some  rushes  or  lily  pads. 
And  every  turn  gives  a  change  of  view,  and  every 
change  of  view  a  new  delight. 

A  good  brook  offers,  indeed,  a  multitude  of  op- 
portunities for  delightful  landscape  gardening.  It 
is  unfortunate  that  such  opportunities  are  some- 
times wholly  neglected. 


*  "Le  genre  gai  on  riant.  .  .  .  s'applique  generalement  a  des  scenes 
champetres,  pastorales,  doucement  animees,  varices,  qui  constituent  la 
grande  majorite  des  cadres  dans  lesquels  le  talent  du  dessinateur  est  appele 
a  s'exercer." — Andre,   L'Art  des  Jardins,    138. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  CITY  OR  SUBURBAN  LOT. 

The  fact  is,  the  easiest  way  to  spoil  a  good  lawn  is  to  put  a 
flower  bed  on  it;  and  the  most  effective  way  to  show  off  flowers 
to  least  advantage  is   to  plant  them  in   a  bed  in  the   greensward. 

L.  H.  BaUey. 

In  the  planting  of  city  and  suburban  residence 
grounds  there  seems  to  be  the  largest  field  for  im- 
provement in  this  country.  One  sees  in  such  places 
more  exhibitions  of  execrable  bad  taste  than  any- 
where else,  to  be  sure ;  but  such  things  indicate  the 
willingness  and  the  energy  to  do  something,  and 
taste  often  improves  as  work  goes  on.  Those  peo- 
ple who  own  their  grounds  in  the  towns  and  subur- 
ban districts  are  the  truest  home  lovers  in  the  na- 
tion ;  and  as  a  class  they  have  the  means,  the  desire 
and  the  taste, — often  uneducated  in  this  particular 
line, — for  home  improvement.  Still  there  is  much 
too  little  done  in  the  way  of  gardening  or  of  any 
tasteful  amelioration  of  the  grounds. 

While  the  housebuilder  gladly  puts  $3,000  or 
$20,000  into  his  house,  he  regards  $50  or  $100  as 
ample  outlay  for  the  ornamentation  of  the  surround- 
ing grounds.  And  while  he  is  sure  to  employ  an 
architect  and  pay  him  $100  to  $500  for  planning  the 
house,  he  does  not  think  of  consulting  a  landscape 
gardener  to  design  the  surfacings  and  plantings,  but 
leaves  such  things  to  the  cheap  day  laborer  who 
mows  the  lawn  or  takes  care  of  the  stable.  These 
things  make  it  obvious  that  the  gentle  art  of  gar- 
dening has  not  yet  gained  a  proper  appreciation 
from  all  those  who  should  be  its  votaries. 

The  first  great  question  to  be  decided,  in  laying 
out  the  grounds  of  a  moderate-sized  city  home,  is 

90 


THE    CITY   OR    SUBURBAN    LOT.  gi 

whether  a  fine  effect  from  the  street  shall  be  sought, 
or  a  comfortable  outdoor  privacy  be  secured  to  the 
residents.  On  large  grounds  both  these  desiderata 
may  be  secured ;  but  on  small  lots  one  must  be  sac- 
rificed. The  good,  old  fashioned  English  style  of 
securing  privacy  in  small  places, — a  method  adopted 
by  many  citizens  of  a  former  period  in  America, — 
is  to  have  a  thick,  high  hedge  all  along  the  front. 
One  still  sees  numbers  of  such  hedges  of  arbor  vitse, 
or  privet,  or  mulberry,  completely  screening  the  house 
and  grounds  from' the  street.  Such  an  arrangement 
has  its  very  simple  and  substantial  advantages,  and  if 
it  is  to  be  adopted  there  is  no  further  advice  to  be  given, 
except  to  choose  a  thrifty  species  for  the  hedge  and 
keep  it  cleaned  and  well  pruned. 

A  practicable  modification  of  this  method,  but  one 
not  often  seen,  is  to  plant  a  somewhat  irregular 
screen  of  mixed  trees  and  shrubs  and  herbaceous 
materials.  Such  a  screen  can  be  arranged  in  the 
same  general  way  as  an  ordinary  border  planting, 
except  that  it  will  usually  face  in  two  directions. 
This  will  shield  the  company  on  the  lawn  from  the 
passers  along  the  street,  and  will,  at  the  same  time, 
give  opportunity  for  the  introduction  of  an  indefinite 
variety  of  ornamental  plants,  some  of  which  are  visible 
from  the  street  and  some  from  the  house  and  lawn. 

But  a  great  many  people  do  not  live  much  on  the 
lawn,  or  prefer  for  other  reasons  to  make  the 
grounds  a  setting  for  the  house  in  such  a  way  that 
the  whole  shall  give  the  best  possible  effect  from  the 
street.  In  such  cases  there  come  into  play  all  the 
principles  of  taste  which  govern  gardening  anywhere. 
As  in  other  gardening  operations,  unity  is  most  to 
be  regarded.  It  is  often  violated  to  excess.  Many 
city  gardens  are  only  aggregations  of  unrelated  and 
incompatible  features  picked  up  here  and  yonder 
because  they  struck  the  passing  fancy  of  the  col- 


92 


LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 


Fig.  26.     A  SECLUDED   PLEASANT   HOME   GARDEN. 


THE    CITY    OR    SUBURBAN    LOT.  93 

lector.  A  good  plan  should  be  made  and  followed. 
This  plan  should  be  upon  very  simple  lines, — the 
simpler  as  the  grounds  are  smaller.  It  is  here,  more 
than  elsewhere,  imperative  that  the  center  of  the 
lawn  in  front  of  the  house  be  kept  open.  If  the 
grounds  are  small,  the  space  will  seem  to  be  in- 
creased by  placing  the  house  at  one  side  and  com- 
paratively far  from  the  street.  And  then,  if  it  may 
be  done  without  sacrificing  the  appearance  of  direct- 
ness, the  front  walk  may  also  be  carried  to  one  side, 
leaving  the  main  lawn  intact  and  very  much  aug- 
mented in  its  apparent  extent.  The  plantings  are 
then  made  in  irregular  borders  along  the  sides  of 
the  lot  and  at  the  back,  with  more  or  fewer  herbs 
and  shrubs  and  climbers  against  the  porches  and  the 
foundations  of  the  house  itself,  according  to  its 
architectural  character.  Mistakes  specially  to  be 
avoided  in  such  a  scheme  of  treatment  are  formal 
flower  beds  in  the  lawn,  detached  shrubs,  horticultural 
monstrosities  of  all  sorts,  conspicuous  edgings  along 
walks,  noticeably  imperfect  specimens  of  any  kind,  etc. 

So  far  we  have  considered  the  treatment  of  the 
city  residence  lot  in  accordance  with  the  natural 
style  of  gardening.  Circumstances  are  often  such 
as  to  make  a  geometrical  treatment  even  more  desir- 
able. In  fact,  the  tendency  in  this  country  is  so 
strong  toward  the  natural  method  of  planting  that  many 
excellent  opportunities  for  fine  efifects  in  the  opposite 
method  are  ignored.  The  prospective  planter  of  small 
grounds,  who  has  not  yet  formed  decided  preferences 
for  the  natural  style,  is  strongly  recommended  to  bring 
himself  to  the  clearest  possible  appreciation  of  the 
beauties  and  capabilities  of  the  geometrical  style  before 
he  commits  himself  to  any  particular  plan. 

In  treating  the  small  city  lot  according  to  the 
formal  style,  the  ground  is  first  laid  out  in  purely 
geometrical  lines.     There  are  straight  walks,  and 


94  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

rectangular  or  circular  areas  for  grass  or  plants ; 
and  if  terraces  are  necessary,  they  are  laid  out  so 
that  their  lines  form  a  part  of  the  general  frame- 
work. Then  the  hedges  which  are  to  be  clipped,  the 
formal  flower  beds,  and  the  other  accessories  of 
this  style  of  gardening  are  filled  in  upon  the  plan, 
according  to  the  principles  laid  down  in  Chapter  III. 
Special  caution  must  be  given  the  suburban  resi- 
dent and  amateur  gardener  against  planting  too  much 
of  too  many  things.  Everyone  knows  how  easy  it  is  to 
over-furnish  a  room;  but  few  realize  how  much 
easier  it  is  to  over-furnish  a  lawn.  The  flower-loving 
suburban  gardener  wants  everything  in  the  nursery- 
man's catalog;  and  such  an  appetite  is  a  blessing 
only  when  properly  restrained.  Perhaps  it  will  be 
an  acceptable  hint  to  say  that  more  things  may  be 
grown  in  tasteful  arrangement  within  a  small  com- 
pass by  close  planting  of  herbaceous  or  semi- 
herbaceous  annuals  and  perennials  in  irregular  bor- 
ders, than  by  any  system  of  bedding  or  nursery 
crowding  such  as  is  commonly  practiced  on  small 
places.  Many  diverse  sorts  of  plants  thus  forced 
into  company  give  a  fine  example  of  the  universal 
struggle  for  existence,  and  of  the  mutual  adapta- 
tions to  which  such  an  encounter  gives  rise.  The 
nasturtiums  will  clamber  up  the  strong  stems  of  the 
sunflowers;  the  petunias  will  look  out  from  under 
the  castor  beans,  and  the  verbenas  from  under  the  petu- 
nias; the  yellow  coreopsis  will  mingle  freely  with  the 
blue  pentstemons,  and  over  all  will  tower  the  holly- 
hocks, the  heleniums  and  the  rudbeckias.  Give 
them  plenty  of  food,  an  abundance  of  water,  and 
constant,  sympathetic  interest,  and  how  they  will 
grow,  and  what  a  jolly  place  it  will  be!  This  is 
where  many  a  successful  business  man  recruits,  all 
summer  long,  his  flagging  energies  by  daily  relaxa- 
tion among  his  shrubs  and  flowers  and  family. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    ORNAMENTATION    OF    FARMYARDS. 

We  would  have  the  cottage,  the  farmhouse  and  the  largef 
country  house,  all  marked  by  a  somewhat  distinctive  character 
of  their  own,  so  far  as  relates  to  making  them  complete  and 
individual  of  their  kind;  and  believing,  as  we  do,  that  the 
beauty  and  force  of  every  true  man's  life  or  occupation  depend 
largely  on  his  pursuing  it  frankly,  honestly,  openly,  with  all  the 
individuality  of  his  character,  we  would  have  his  house  and  home 
help  to  give  significance  to,  and  dignify,  that  daily  life  and  occu- 
pation, by  harmonizing  with  them.  For  this  reason  we  think 
the  farmer  errs  when  he  copies  the  filigree  work  of  the  retired 
citizen's  cottage,  instead  of  showing  that  rustic  strength  and 
solidity  in  his  house  which  are  its  true  elements  of  interest  and 
beauty.  A.  J.  Downing. 

Everyone  must  some  time  have  felt  a  shock  at 
coming  upon  a  city  house  in  the  country.  vSuch 
houses  are,  fortunately,  rare;  but  they  are  not  un- 
known. There  will  be  the  house  of  complicated 
architecture,  with  gables,  and  porticoes  and  loggias, 
and  porte-cochere;  and  there  will  be  all  the  other 
accompaniments  to  give  a  thoroughly  urban  air  to 
the  whole  place.  And  most  persons  will  feel  in- 
stinctively what  an  impropriety  such  a  composition 
presents.  The  country  house  must  have  a  thor- 
oughly rural  air.  The  owner  has  hardly  the  choice 
of  any  other  plan.  And  to  give  a  rural  atmosphere 
some  sort  of  naturalistic  treatment  of  the  grounds 
will  be  necessary. 

This  naturalistic  treatment,  on  account  of  the  con- 
siderations already  hinted  at,  ought  to  be  on  a  com- 
paratively large  scale.  This  is  usually  possible,  for 
the  farm  can  commonly  spare  whatever  room  is  re- 
quired for  the  homestead  and  its  immediate  depend- 
encies. In  those  rather  too  common  cases  in  which 
the  house  and  gardens  are  of  mean  extent  or  are 

95 


g6  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

crowded  into  the  highway,  the  trouble  has  arisen, 
not  through  parsimony  of  room,  but  simply  through 
thoughtlessness  of  the  needs  of  the  farm  home.  A 
farmhouse  ought  to  have  plenty  of  room ;  and  if  the 
grounds  have  already  been  laid  out  so  as  not  to 
leave  ample  space,  the  best  thing  that  can  be  done 
is  to  reconstruct  them  altogether,  or  so  far  as  may 
be  necessary  to  gain  a  free  and  roomy  farmyard. 

A  farmhouse  ought  to  be  comparatively  remote 
from  the  road.  The  distance  will  vary  according 
to  the  height  of  the  house,  the  slope  of  the  land,  the 
taste  of  the  builder,  and  other  circumstances;  but 
the  distance  ought  not  to  be  less  than  three  times 
the  height  of  the  house,  or  more  if  the  ground  slopes 
upward  from  the  street.  If  the  house  is  put  some 
distance  back  into  the  grounds,  as  is  sometimes  very 
desirable,  and  has  an  approach  of  its  own,  the  main 
view  of  the  house  ought  still  to  be  given  at  a  dis- 
tance something  greater  than  three  times  the  height 
of  the  house. 

This  is  not  a  work  on  architecture,  but  it  may  not 
be  out  of  place  to  make  a  few  brief  suggestions 
respecting  the  farmhouse  itself.  Generally  some 
very  simple  plan  of  architecture  is  to  be  preferred. 
A  sharp  or  much  broken  roof  is  especially  to  be 
avoided.  Porches  ought  to  be  wide,  and  their  floors 
not  high  from  the  ground,  especially  if  the  place 
be  level.  City  dwellers  affect  high  porches  and 
second-story  balconies  for  the  sake  of  the  privacy 
they  give;  but  privacy  is  more  easily  secured  on  a 
farm.  Country  houses  are  often  painted  white,  and 
sometimes  the  result  is  fairly  agreeable.  Usually 
some  other  color  will  give  a  better  effect,  however, 
— some  slaty,  or  grayish,  or  other  neutral  shade, — 
for  white  surfaces  mar  the  rurality  of  the  general 
effect. 

A  farmyard  without  some  large  shade  trees  is  a 


ORNAMENTATION    OF   FARMYARDS. 


97 


very  unsatisfactory  affair.  This  needs  hardly  to  be 
mentioned.  The  more  common  evil  is  an  over-indul- 
gence of  this  craving  for  shade  trees ;  and  there  are 
many  houses  badly  shadowed  and  shut  in,  and  many 
yards  cramped  and  crowded  by  twice  or  thrice  the  num- 
ber of  large  trees  which  the  place  ought  to  support. 
The  ax  is  the  remedy  for  such  cases.  The  remedy  is, 
indeed,  very  hard  to  apply  to  trees  which  have  be- 


FiG.   27.     SUGGESTION  FOR  A  FARMYARD. 

a  a  a.   Sugar   maples;    b  b,    shrubbery;    c,    climbers    on    porch;    d,    hawthorn; 

e  e,  elms;  /,  basswood  or  horse-chestnut;  g  g,  sycamores. 

come  old  friends,  but  the  improvement  will  be  worth 
all  the  sorrow  which  comes  with  it.  The  best  way  of 
all  is  to  make  such  thinnings  very  much  earlier  in 
the  development  of  the  grounds,  and  then  there  is 
likely  to  be  much  less  grief  in  the  family. 

To  produce  the  rural,  naturalistic  effect  here 
recommended,  there  should  be  a  liberal  use  of 
shrubs.  And  for  the  most  part,  the  common  native 
shrubs  of  the  woods  and  fields  are  much  superior  to 
the  finest  exotics.    Those  things  which  are  so  com- 


98  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

mon  as  to  be  slightingly  passed  by  are  often  the  very 
best.  Buck-berries,  snow  berries,  alders,  elders,  dog- 
woods, wild  roses,  the  flowering  raspberry,  and 
many  others  which  are  always  ready  to  the  hand, 
should  be  planted  in  profusion.  If  they  prove  to 
be  too  thick,  they  may  be  thinned  out  as  they  grow; 
but  it  is  very  seldom  that  such  a  necessity  arises. 
Of  course,  many  of  the  nurseryman's  shrubs  are  well 
worth  having,  and  may  be  added  as  occasion  re- 
quires and  means  permit. 

In  connection  with  shrubs,  a  great  many  hardy 
perennials  may  be  used  to  advantage.  These  are 
more  fully  discussed  in  another  place.  Annual 
flowering  plants  are  not  very  useful  or  appropriate 
in  the  ordinary  front  yard,  though  they  may  be 
grown  in  any  quantity  in  the  side  borders  if  desired. 
Such  flowering  plants  are  usually  grown  for  the 
blossoms  themselves  rather  than  for  anything  they 
contribute  to  the  general  effect;  and  their  end  is 
then  best  served  if  they  can  be  cultivated  in  a  sepa- 
rate garden  plot,  behind  the  house  or  at  one  side, 
enclosed  somewhere,  or  in  connection  with  the 
kitchen  garden.  In  this  latter  situation  they  are 
likely  to  receive  better  culture  and  more  fertilizer, 
and  to  give  correspondingly  larger  crops  of  finer 
blossoms. 

A  fence  about  the  farmyard  is  frequently  a  posi- 
tive necessity,  but  it  need  not  be  a  whitewashed 
picket  fence.  The  less  conspicuous  it  be,  the  better; 
and  some  sort  of  hedge,  of  arbor  vitae,  holly,  privet, 
or  similar  materials,  is  much  to  be  preferred.  The 
plan  shown  in  Fig.  2,j,  for  a  farm  yard,  is  offered 
merely  as  a  suggestion,  and  should  not  be  copied.  The 
chief  features  to  which  attention  should  be  directed  are 
the  open  space  in  front  of  the  house,  the  limited 
number  of  large  trees,  and  the  shrubbery  at  the 
sides. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  AMELIORATION  OF  SCHOOL  GROUNDS. 

We  have  an  ideal  picture,  that  refreshes  our  imagination,  ol 
common  schoolhouses  scattered  all  over  our  wide  country,  not 
wild  bedlams  which  seem  to  the  traveler  plague  spots  on  the 
fair  country  landscape,  but  little  nests  of  verdure  and  beauty; 
embryo  Arcadias,  that  beget  tastes  for  lovely  gardens,  neat 
houses  and  well-cultivated  lands. 

A.  J.  Downing. 

It  would  seem  as  though  the  grounds  about  a 
school  building  stood  in  special  need  of  such  means 
of  refinement  as  trees  and  shrubs.  But  we  know 
how  often,  especially  in  the  cities,  they  have  not 
the  room  even  for  green  grass. 

But  supposing  we  have  one  of  those  fortunate 
suburban  or  rural  schools,  whose  founders  have  had 
the  foresight  and  the  benevolence  to  reserve  for  it 
some  more  adequate  grounds,  what  can  we  do  in 
the  way  of  ornamentation?  Obviously,  fancy  gar- 
dening with  expensive  plants  is  out  of  the  question. 
Something  simple  must  be  undertaken,  and  usually 
something  inexpensive.  If  the  circumstances  of 
soil  and  climate  and  the  attendance  of  the  school 
will  permit  its  maintenance,  a  good  turf  is  most  to 
be  desired.  But  in  many  places  this  will  be  tramped 
to  pieces ;  and  then  some  sort  of  paving  ought  to  be 
provided, — gravel,  or  sand  or  stone. 

If  a  school  yard  can  have  a  few  large  trees  they 
will  always  be  greatly  prized  by  everyone.  Their 
value  is  so  great  that,  in  places  having  the  room, 
very  considerable  pains  should  be  taken  to  supply 
them.  Usually  it  is  best  to  plant  the  largest  trees 
possible.  Thousands  of  our  American  schools  cele- 
brate an  Arbor  day.  Usually  the  trees  planted  on 
such  occasions  are  considerable  in  number,  but  in- 


100  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

considerable  in  size.  Most  of  them  succumb  to 
various  casualties  before  the  end  of  term  time,  and 
the  remainder  die  of  neglect  during  vacation.  If 
the  same  work  were  applied  to  the  planting  of  one 
or  two  large  trees, — twelve,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet 
high,  with  sufficiently  good  roots, — the  chances  of 
success,  under  the  circumstances,  would  be  greater. 

Shrubs  can  be  used  to  advantage  on  school 
grounds  along  back  boundaries,  especially  against 
fences.  Good,  thrifty  native  species,  like  dogwood, 
hawthorn,  and  even  the  wild  bramble,  will  add 
greatly  to  the  looks  of  the  premises  by  relieving 
them  of  that  cheerless,  depressing  barrenness  which 
too  commonly  characterizes  the  schoolhouse  lot.  Atten- 
tion will  need  be  given  that  such  shrubbery  borders  do 
not  become  unsightly  by  the  accumulation  of  litter,  but 
no  other  special  care  or  cultivation  will  be  required. 

One  often  hears  it  argued,  how  nice  and  proper 
it  would  be  to  grow  flowering  plants  and  plants  of 
economic  interest  on  the  school  grounds.  There  is 
a  very  sufficient  multitude  of  reasons  why  this  is 
seldom  possible,  but  the  idea  is  admirable  and  one 
to  be  encouraged.  If  such  good  things  seem  to  be 
within  reach,  the  garden  beds  will  best  be  put  along 
the  back  and  side  borders.  It  is  possible  in  such 
situations,  and  under  favorable  conditions,  to  culti- 
vate narrow  beds,  laid  out  in  a  manner  to  be  out  of 
the  way  of  most  of  the  romping  play  which  occupies 
the  main  grounds.  But  for  all  such  plantings  the 
hardy  perennials  are  to  be  recommended  above  the 
annuals,  other  things  being  equal. 

The  great  difficulties  in  the  way  ought  not  to 
deter  school  boards,  teachers  and  patrons  from  using 
their  best  efforts  to  ameliorate,  as  much  as  possi- 
ble, the  uninviting  blankness  of  the  ordinary  school 
grounds,  especially  in  view  of  the  very  manifest 
desirability  of  such  improvement. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SOMETHING  ABOUT  PUBLIC  PARKS. 

Contact  with  and  contemplation  of  natural  scenery,  especially 
•  f  pastoral  scenery,  bring  positive  refreshment  to  the  mind. 
Green  pastures  and  still  waters  now,  as  in  the  days  of  the  Hebrew 
poet,  restore  the  soul.  This  is  a  fundamental  truth,  and,  there- 
fore, it  has  profound  practical  importance. 

W.  A.  Stiles. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  value  of  charming  natural 
scenery  lies  wholly  in  the  inducement  which  it  presents  to  a 
change  of  mental  occupations,  exercise  and  air-taking.  Besides 
and  above  this,  it  acts  in  a  strictly  remedial  way  to  enable  men 
to  resist  the  harmful  influences  of  ordinary  town  life.  .  .  . 
It  is  thus  a  sanative  agent  of  vital  importance. 

F.  L.  Olmsted. 

There  seems  to  be  a  very  considerable  misappre- 
hension and  inappreciation  of  the  uses  of  a  public  park. 
In  fact,  a  majority  of  people  would  probably  say,  if 
pressed  to  express  their  true  feelings,  that,  personally, 
they  could  do  very  well  without  the  parks.  Parks  and 
public  gardens  are  generally  felt  to  be  a  luxury,  and 
suitable  for  the  edification  chiefly  of  people  of  leisure. 
On  second  thought,  however,  anyone  must  see  the  mis- 
takenness  of  such  views,  though  it  is  still  very  difficult 
to  demonstrate  the  practical  utility  of  public  parks  to 
the  skeptic. 

First  of  all,  city  parks  have  been  likened  to  lungs, 
which  help  to  purify  the  air  and  so  make  breathing  less 
hazardous.  Those  who  know  how  difficult  it  is  in  the 
city  to  get  pure  water  or  pure  air  will  know  how  real 
such  a  benefit  is.  Perhaps  the  country  visitor,  who  is 
used  to  clean  air  with  plenty  of  oxygen  in  it,  is  most 
oppressed  by  the  snuffy,  dusty,  filthy  stuff  he  has  to 
breathe  when  occasionally  he  comes  to  town.  But  such 
air  is  doubtless  quite  as  harmful  to  those  who  are 
accustomed  to  it  as  to  those  who  notice  it  more.     It 

101 


102  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

must  be  regarded  as  a  prolific  source  of  disease.  Such 
air,  however,  when  it  has  room  to  circulate,  purifies 
itself  with  comparative  rapidity ;  and  the  usefulness  of 
even  a  small  open  space  may  extend  to  a  considerable 
circumference. 

The  public  park  ofifers  the  only  outdoor  recreation 
room  for  very  large  numbers  of  city  dwellers.  This  is 
not  the  place,  nor  is  it  necessary  here,  to  argue  that  the 
hurried,  worried  city  population  stands  in  great  need 
of  such  rest  and  recreation.  It  may  be  regarded  as 
self-evident.  One  who  looks  about  in  any  city  park 
on  any  reasonably  fair  day  will  find  how  large  a  num- 
ber of  people  have  felt  such  a  need;  and  he  is  much 
more  likely  to  conclude  that  hundreds  of  others  should 
have  come  to  the  park,  than  to  think  that  those  whom 
he  sees  have  no  business  there.  If  one  thinks  about 
such  things  while  he  is  in  the  park  and  sees  the  mothers 
with  their  babies,  the  girls  and  boys  picnicking,  the 
young  people  on  their  bicycles,  the  families  in  carriages, 
and  the  hundreds  of  others  of  every  age  and  estate 
relaxing  from  the  stress  of  ordinary  care,  he  must 
conclude  that  these  people  get  some  good  out  of  it, 
which,  in  the  sum  total,  makes  a  rich  interest  on  the 
park  investment. 

By  far  the  most  important  purpose  which  the  park 
serves,  however,  is  that  of  mental  sanitation.  The 
merest  novice  in  city  living  knows  how  wearing  upon 
the  mind,  and  upon  the  nerve  centers  generally,  are 
the  din  and  hurry  and  unrest  from  which  no  one  has 
immunity.  When  continually  exposed  to  such  condi- 
tions, the  mind  and  the  senses  become  dulled  and 
dimmed  by  the  multitude  of  offensive  impressions 
v^hich  they  are  obliged  to  bear.  The  senses  need 
rest  and  the  mind  needs  renovation.  The  man  who 
does  not  bathe  his  body  once  a  week  is  not  thought 
respectable ;  yet  no  one  blames  him  for  letting  his 
intellect  go  uncleansed  for  the  space  of  a  year.    But 


SOMETHING   ABOUT    PUBLIC    PARKS.'  IO3 

as  the  mind  responds  much  more  quickly  than  the 
body  to  its  environment,  it  demands  the  more  fre- 
quent and  thorough  restoration.  Many  minds  need 
thorough  abkition, — disinfection.  Every  mind  needs 
frequent  rest  and  clarification.  For  these  purposes 
nothing  is  better  than  rural  scenery,  quiet,  and  clean 
air.  The  quiet  woodland  shade,  the  cool  green- 
sward, the  budding  and  blossoming  flowers,  have  a 
powerfully  refreshing  influence  which  is  felt  by 
everyone,  but  underestimated  by  most  of  us.  The 
problem  of  modern  city  life  seems  to  be  less  the 
development  of  bodily  perfections,  than  keeping  the 
mind  keyed  up  to  the  highest  point  of  efficiency; 
and  in  the  solution  of  that  problem  the  open  park 
ground  must  always  prove  a  very  important  quan- 
tity. 

If,  now,  we  inquire  how  the  best  artistic  effect  is 
to  be  realized  in  the  development  of  municipal  parks, 
we  have  opened  a  most  difficult  and  important  ques- 
tion. Under  the  usual  democratic  method  of  man- 
agement, an  artistic  success  is  in  the  highest  degree 
improbable.  We  have  already  familiarized  our- 
selves, in  a  previous  chapter,  with  the  primacy  of  the 
demand  for  unity  in  landscape  composition.  We 
have  seen  how  necessary  it  is  that  one  mind,  dis- 
embarrassed of  all  extraneous  influences,  shall  cre- 
ate one  coherent  plan  which  shall  ever  after  be 
strictly  followed.  And  yet  the  ordinary  way  is  to  do 
these  things  by  legislation !  Even  after  a  park  is 
fully  established  in  some  fair  degree  of  completeness 
it  must  still  suffer  alterations  with  each  change  in 
the  board  of  aldermen. 

;  All  this  is  not  meant  as  an  argument  against  denv 
ocratic  city  government,  but  to  point  out  clearly 
the  tremendous  difficulty  of  securing  good  land- 
scape gardening  in  public  parks,  and  to  show  how 
imperative  it  is  that  every  means  be  taken  to  secure 


104 


LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 


continuity  and  stability  of  park  management.  There 
is,  of  course,  no  argument  to  be  brought  against 
the  demands  of  "practicab  politics;"  but  in  those 
cases,  not  unknown,  where  common  sense  still  has 
a  hearing,  there  is  yet  hope  for  an  intelligent  treat- 
ment of  this  important  question.  There  are  places 
in  this  country  where  park  superintendents  have  a 
fairly  satisfactory  tenure  of  office,  and  where  they 


Fig.   28.     BELLE   ISLAND    PARK,    DETROIT. 

are  allowed  to  manage,  more  or  less,  the  develop- 
ment of  park  plans.  There  is  an  increasing  tendency 
to  employ  competent  landscape  gardeners  in  the 
formation  of  parks,  and  other  cheering  signs  com- 
bine to  color  our  hope  for  a  steady  improvement  of 
park  management  along  with  the  improvement  of 
public  taste. 

When  we  consider  the  purposes  of  a  public  park 
as   set   forth   above,  we  will   see  at  once   why   the 


SOMETHING   ABOUT   PUBLIC    PARKS.  IO5 

natural  method  of  gardening"  best  subserves  them, 
and  why  they  are  the  better  fulfilled  the  more  natu- 
ral and  pronouncedly  rural  the  treatment  is.  Quiet- 
ness, restfulness,  simplicity,  are  the  most  desirable 
qualities.  And  this  emphasizes  the  inappropriate- 
ness  of  pattern  bedding,  of  loud  color  designs,  and 
of  all  the  tricks,  intricacies,  extravagancies  and  arti- 
ficialities which  eat  up  the  gardener's  time  and  the 
city's  money,  and  which,  by  so  much,  render  the 
park  unfit  for  its  best  service.  It  is  said,  with  con- 
siderable truth,  by  gardeners  and  others,  that  the 
public  demand  the  artificial  color  patterns.  Many 
people  feel  obliged  to  cater  to  this  taste,  even 
though  they  regard  it  as  childish.  But  it  should  be 
said  that  the  disproportionate  notice  which  such 
objects  attract  in  a  public  park  is  not  a  safe  measure 
of  the  satisfaction  they  give.  Many  visitors  are 
benefited  by  the  fresh  grass  and  the  cooling  shade 
who  do  not  notice  the  lawn  and  the  trees ;  while 
those  who  exclaim  most  loudly  over  the  wonderful 
Chinese  puzzles  in  coleus  are  not  helped  by  them 
in  the  smallest  degree.  Such  vociferous  features  of 
park  ornamentation  may  be  very  fairly  compared 
with  the  crying  evil  of  advertising  displays.  When 
once  begun,  there  is  no  excess  to  which  either  one 
may  not  be  compelled  to  go. 


PART  IV. 


The  Gardener's  Materials. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A   SELECT  LIST   OF  TREES, 

Many  large  trees,  especially  elms,  about  a  house,  are  a  sure 
indication  of  family  distinction  and  worth.  Any  evidence  of 
care  bestowed  on  these  trees  receives  the  traveler's  respect  as 
for  a  nobler  husbandry  than  the  raising  of  corn   and  potatoes. 

Henry  David  Thoreau. 

It  will  not  do  to  be  exclusive  in  our  tastes  about  trees.  There 
is  hardly  one  of  them  which  has  not  peculiar  beauties  in  some 
fitting  place  for  it.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes. 

In  any  save  the  smallest  places  the  trees  form  the 
framework  of  the  plantings.  They  are  the  first  to  be 
considered,  and  the  first  to  be  placed.  And  unless 
they  are  felicitously  selected  and  happily  placed  and 
well  grown  the  whole  composition  is  apt  to  fall  to 
pieces,  since  it  lacks  the  necessary  framework. 

Moreover,  trees  are  sometimes  able  to  make  a 
whole  landscape  by  themselves.  A  forest  is  fre- 
quently beautiful.  And  if  there  are  pleasant  open- 
ings, with  long  perspectives,  and  views  of  wooded 
hills,  or  of  craggy  mountains,  or  of  river,  lake  or 
sea,  the  landscape  requires  little  else  to  make  it  satis- 
fying to  the  most  fastidious  taste. 

Then,  too,  a  tree  is  a  beautiful  thing  by  itself. 
Each  good  tree  has  its  own  peculiar  and  sufficient 
beauties,  and  even  the  blasted  and  storm-torn  tree 
may  make  a  fascinating  picture.  In  all  large  plant- 
ings there  should  be  included  a  number  of  speci- 
men trees,  so  placed  as  to  show  their  individual 
good  qualities,  and  so  grown  as  to  possess  those 
good  qualities  in  the  greatest  measure. 

For  all  these  reasons  the  selection  of  suitable  trc^.s 
becomes  one  of  the  landscape  gardener's  first  and 
most  important  duties.  Eamiliarity  with  trees  and 
a  sympathetic  understanding  of  their  manners  and 

109 


no  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

moods  is  the  best  basis  on  which  to  make  this 
choice;  but  the  following  notes,  which  make  no 
claim  to  completeness,  may  be  of  some  service  to  those 
who  have  not  made  trees  a  special  study. 

Ash. — There  are  three  or  four  native  species  of  ash 
which  may  usually  be  collected  from  the  woods  or 
bought  from  the  nurseries.  All  are  good.  They  are 
excellent  for  large  masses,  and  will  bear  compara- 
tively thick  planting. 

Beech. — The  common  American  beech  is  a  fine 
tree  where  it  will  succeed.  It  is  not  practicable  to 
mass  it  except  in  waste  places,  on  hillsides,  and  the 
like.  An  occasional  single  tree  in  rich  soil  makes 
a  specimen  to  be  proud  of.  The  Purple-leaved  beech 
is  a  good  tree  of  its  color;  but  one  or  two  will  be 
enough  for  a  very  large  place. 

Birch. — Pyramidal  and  weeping  birches  have 
found  many  buyers  during  recent  years.  However,  they 
partake  more  of  the  nature  of  curiosities  than  of 
indigenous  trees,  and  are  not  to  be  recommended. 
Nearly  all  the  native  forms  and  species  are  good  in 
their  place,  however,  in  garden  planting,  though  any 
of  them  must  be  sparingly  used.  The  White  birch, 
Canoe  birch  and  Yellow  birch  deserve  special  men- 
tion. 

Butternut. — See  Walnut. 

Catalpa. — Catalpa  speciosa  is  the  species  most 
planted.  It  makes  a  small  or  moderate  sized  tree,  with 
large  foliage,  which  is  quite  ornamental;  and  the 
species  is  further  desirable  for  its  fine  display  of 
flowers.  Catalpa  hignonioides  and  Tea's  Japan  Hybrid 
are  good  sorts  less  frequently  planted. 

Cedar. — The  Red  cedar,  Juniperus  Virglniana,  is 
a  fine  ornamental  evergreen  much  used  in  the 
western  states,  but  scarcely  known  in  some  parts  of 
the  east.  It  is  suitable  for  almost  every  situation 
where  evergreens  may  be  used;  it  can  be  massed 


A  SELECT   LIST   OF  TREES.  Ill 

with  fine  effect;  it  has  a  very  attractive  coior;  and 
other  qualities  recommend  it  for  more  general 
notice. 

Coffee  Tree. — This  beautiful  ornamental  tree, 
Gymnocladiis  Canadensis,  makes  a  good  specimen  on 
almost  any  lawn.  Not  more  than  two  or  three  are 
usually  desirable,  but  they  should  not  be  omitted. 

Elm. — The  American  elm  is  the  typical  American 
tree,  and  the  one  indispensable  street  tree.  It  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  generally  useful  ornamental  tree 
we  have.  No  other  elm  is  so  good  as  the  common 
species,  though  the  following  are  well  worth  using 
for  special  purposes :  Slippery  elm,  Ulmus  fulva, 
English  elm,  U.  campestris,  Huntingdon  elm,  U.  Hunt- 
ingdoni,  Wych  elm,  U.  Montana. 

Ginkgo. — This  strange  tree,  sometimes  called  the 
Maidenhair  tree,  makes  an  odd  and  pretty  specimen, 
but  is  not  suited  to  grouping.  It  makes  a  very  good 
street  tree  when  well  grown. 

Hackberry. — Sometimes  called  Nettle  tree,  Celtis 
occidentalis.  This  is  a  good,  hardy  tree,  especially  de- 
sirable in  the  western  prairie  states. 

Honey  Locust. — This  is  one  of  our  very  best  shade 
and  ornamental  trees.  Its  very  large  thorns,  which 
sometimes  prove  annoying,  may  be  avoided  by  secur- 
ing thornless  trees.  These  thornless  trees  may  be 
found  in  almost  any  nursery. 

Horse-chestnut. — This  is  a  fine  tree  for  small 
groups.  It  is  not  useful  in  masses,  and  not  at  its  best 
in  street  planting.  For  grouping,  the  Ohio  Buckeye  or 
Western  horse-chestnut  is  a  good  tree  of  small  size. 

Koelreuteria. — Koelreuteria  paniculata  has  found 
many  friends  in  this  country,  and  may  be  seen  in  many 
parks  and  private  places.  It  makes  a  small  tree, 
fifteen  to  thirty  feet  high,  with  feathery  pinnate  leaves, 
and  pretty  yellow  blossoms.  To  be  chosen  for  middle- 
ground  plantings,  and  used  in  small  numbers. 


112  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

Linden. — The  American  linden  or  Basswood  is  a 
good  park  tree,  and  also  good  for  street  planting.  It 
deserves  more  general  use. 

Magnolias. — The  magnolias  seem  most  in  keeping 
with  southern  landscapes,  but  many  of  them  are  useful 
as  far  north  as  New  York  city.  Among  the  best  species 
ai^  Magnolia  conspicua,  M.  glauca,  M.  Soulangeana, 
M.  macrophylla,  M.  stellata,  and  M.  Lennei. 

Maples. — This  is  one  of  our  noblest  genera  of  trees. 
The  common  Sugar  maple  is  a  typical  American  tree 
and  one  of  the  most  valuable  for  planting  anywhere 
where  it  will  thrive.  In  the  western  states  it  does 
not  succeed,  but  is  there  replaced  by  the  Silver  or 
Soft  maple,  Acer  dasycarpum.  A  fine,  semi-weeping 
variety  of  this  latter  species  is  Wier's  Cut-leaved 
maple,  which  is  especially  suitable  for  specimen  plant- 
ing in  grounds  of  moderate  extent.  Schwerdler's 
maple  is  another  fine  ornamental  variety.  The 
Japanese  maples  are  not  hardy  in  the  northern  states. 
Though  very  satisfactory  specimens  are  sometimes 
grown  as  far  northward  as  Massachusetts,  they  are  not 
generally  successful  beyond  New  York,  and  are  at  their 
best  in  the  latitude  of  Washington.  The  Norway  maple, 
Acer  platanoideSj  makes  a  fine  ornamental,  street  or 
shade  tree.  The  Striped  maple  or  moose  wood,  Acer 
Pennsylvanicum,  is  rather  a  large  shrub  than  a  tree,  but 
is  very  fine  for  masses  on  sloping  banks,  for  small 
screens,  and  similar  purposes.  The  Mountain  maple, 
A.  spicatum,  may  be  used  in  the  same  way. 

Mulberry. — The  native  American  mulberry,  Morus 
rubra,  makes  a  good  tree,  and  should  be  oftener  chosen 
for  general  planting.  The  Russian  mulberry  and  the 
Multicaulis  mulberry  are  useful  treated  as  shrubs. 
They  may  be  worked  into  thickets  and  cut  back  from 
year  to  year. 

Oak. — Oaks  are  slow  to  grow,  but  they  are  worth 
waiting  for.     Almost  every  species  is  desirable  for 


A   SELECT   LIST   OF   TREES.  II3 

planting  in  parks  and  private  grounds.  Special  men- 
tion may  be  given  to  the  American  White  Oak,  Qiier- 
CHS  alba.  Swamp  White  Oak,  Q.  hicolor,  and  the  Scarlet 
oak,  Q.  coccinca.  A  dozen  other  extremely  valuable 
species  may  be  selected  from  almost  any  catalog. 

Paulo v^NiA. — This  fine  tree  is  seldom  seen  in  per- 
fection. Perhaps  it  is  difficult  to  grow,  though  the 
experience  of  gardeners  generally  does  not  enforce  this 
point.  It  does  fairly  well  as  far  north  as  New  York 
city,  where  some  excellent  specimens  may  be  seen  in 
Central  Park.    At  Washington  it  is  perhaps  at  its  best. 

Pine. — The  genus  Pinus  contains  the  best  of  the 
evergreen  trees,  though  for  general  park  planting 
spruces  are  more  easily  managed.  The  best  park  pines 
are  the  Austrian,  the  Scotch,  the  White,  Pinus  Strohus, 
and  the  Dwarf  Mugho.  The  latter  makes  a  small, 
round-topped  tree  six  to  ten  feet  high,  which  is  very 
attractive  in  certain  situations. 

Plums. — Pissard's  plum  is  the  one  most  commonly 
chosen  for  ornamental  planting.  This  makes  a  clean, 
pretty,  small  tree,  with  bright,  red  foliage.  It  cannot 
be  used  in  quantity.  Several  of  the  native  plums,  par- 
ticularly Pruniis  Americana,  are  suitable  for  more  fre- 
quent use  in  general  composition. 

Poplar. — Several  of  the  poplars  are  useful,  partic- 
ularly on  account  of  their  easy  and  rapid  growth.  They 
are,  however,  short-lived,  and  sometimes  objectionable 
on  account  of  their  cottony  seeds,  which  they  sow 
broadcast.  The  Lombardy  poplar  has  its  own  peculiar 
and  obvious  role  in  gardening  practice. 

Spruce. — Next  to  the  pines,  the  spruces  are  our 
finest  evergreens,  and  are,  perhaps,  even  more  useful 
than  the  former  in  general  ornamental  planting.  The 
best  are  the  Norway,  White,  Black  and  Colorado. 

Sweet  Gum. — This  tree  is  especially  suitable  to  the 
southern  states,  where,  in  artistic  effect,  it  takes  the 


114  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

place  of  the  Sugar  maple  in  the  north.  Where  it  suc- 
ceeds well  it  may  be  planted  in  masses  of  almost  any 
size. 

Sycamore,  Plane  tree  or  Buttonwood. — The  Amer- 
ica sycamore  is  one  of  tlie  very  finest  street  trees  we 
have,  as  one  will  readily  believe  after  seeing  it  on  the 
Capitol  grounds  at  Washington.  It  is  also  useful  in 
general  park  composition,  the  striking  color  and  tex- 
ture of  its  foliage  marking  it  for  special  notice.  It  is 
not  hardy  north  of  Vermont,  and  not  at  its  best  north 
of  Pennsylvania. 

Thorn  Trees. — The  various  species  of  the  genus 
Crataegus  make  fine  additions  to  lawn  plantings,  their 
effect  being  usually  somewhat  picturesque.  Their 
small  size  adapts  them  to  certain  positions.  Among 
the  best  native  species  may  be  named  Cratccgus  crus- 
galli,  C.  tomentosa,  and  C.  coccinca.  The  English  haw- 
thorn, C.  oxyacaritha,  is  sometimes  planted  in  this 
country  with  fair  success. 

Tulip  Tree,  Liriodendron  tulipifera. — This  is  a 
good  tree  for  situations  where  something  large  is 
required.  It  may  be  massed  in  any  quantity.  Prefers 
good  soil. 

Walnut. — The  common  Black  walnut  makes  a  fine 
tree,  though  it  is  slow  of  growth.  The  Japanese  wal- 
nuts may  sometimes  be  planted  to  advantage.  The 
common  butternut  seldom  makes  a  good  tree,  but  it  has 
characteristic  foliage  which  makes  it  useful  for  plant- 
ing with  other  trees. 

Willow. — Many  of  the  willows  are  useful,  espe- 
cially on  low,  moist  land.  The  best  are  Royal  willow, 
Salix  regalis,  the  Shining  willow,  S.  liicida,  the  Laurel- 
leaved  willow,  6^.  laurifolia,  and  the  Golden  willow,  6^. 
vittelina  aurea.  The  Babylon  willow  is  good  in  spite 
of  its  weeping  habit.  In  general,  weeping  willows  are 
to  be  avoided,  unless  an  exception  be  made  for  ceme- 
teries. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THE    BEST    SHRUBS. 


Deciduous  shrubs  are,  beyond  all  question,  the  most  impor« 
tant   element  in   planting  small   grounds. 

C.  S.  Sargent. 

If  one-tenth  the  trouble  wasted  on  carpet  bedding  and  other 
fleeting,  though  costly,  rubbish,  had  been  spent  on  flowering 
shrubs,  our  gardens  would  be  much  the  better  for  it.  There  are 
no  plants  so  neglected  as  flowering  shrubs. 

Wm.  Robinson. 

The  wild  shrubs  which  skirt  the  waysides  have  a  beauty  be- 
yond that  of  the  cultivated  exotics  in  spaded  gardens. 

Wilson   Flagg. 

To  some  unfortunate  persons  masses  and  borders  of 
loose-growing  shrubbery  suggest  nothing  but  neglected 
roadsides  and  pasture  grounds.  The  commonness  of 
such  materials,  and  the  ease  with  which  unthoughtful 
persons  may  pass  them  by,  seem  to  indicate  a  certain 
crudity,  if  not  a  real  vulgarity,  in  the  bushes  and 
branches.  But  this  feeling  is  founded  upon  an  un- 
trained sympathy, — upon  a  true  lack  of  feeling  for 
nature, — upon  notions  of  ornamental  planting  which 
are  in  the  highest  degree  incorrect.  There  is  nothing 
so  crude  and  vulgar  in  gardening  as  an  over-display  of 
colors  (which  are  nearly  always  inharmonious  among 
themselves.)  An  appetite  for  these  gaudy  colors  indi- 
cates an  untrained  taste,  just  as  an  appetite  for  dime 
novels  indicates  a  poor  taste  in  literature,  or  as  a  pref- 
erence for  noisy  street  songs  indicates  a  lack  of  train- 
ing in  music.  The  more  refined  enjoyment  and  the 
most  deeply  pleasurable  sensations  aroused  by  any  art 
are  those  which  arise  from  delicate  colorings,  from 
subtle  modulations,  from  almost  imperceptible  distinc- 
tions. And  so  the  nature-lover  delights  in  the  most 
delicate   tones   and   tints   of   grays   and   greens    and 

115 


Il6  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

browns,  like  those  of  the  pussy  willow  and  the  road- 
side dogwood;  and  he  revels  in  the  beautiful  variety 
of  texture  offered  by  the  spiraea,  the  sumach  and  the 
Judas  tree. 

We  have  already  called  attention  to  the  usefulness 
of  shrubs  in  naturalistic  plantings,  and  need  not  repeat 
what  has  been  said.  But  shrubs  are  also  indispensable 
in  all  other  systems  of  gardening,  and  a  study  of  the 
species  and  varieties  at  command  must  be  the  first 
business  of  the  gardener.  The  following  list  is  not  .at  all 
complete,  but  is  meant  to  include  the  hardier  and  more 
useful  kinds.  There  are  enough  for  most  plantings, 
for  one  must  not  make  the  mistake  of  trying  to  plant 
everything.  A  dozen  well-selected  species  give  a  better 
effect  than  two  hundred  sorts  huddled  and  crowded  and 
jumbled  together. 

One  frequently  sees  shrubs  tied  up  in  straw,  or  laid 
down  and  covered,  or  otherwise  carefully  protected  for 
the  winter.  This  has  to  be  done  with  certain  species  in 
certain  situations  to  keep  them  alive.  But  there  are  so 
many  perfectly  hardy  shrubs,  able  to  withstand  every- 
thing that  comes,  that  such  labor  may  be  entirely 
avoided.  In  fact,  those  plants  which  have  to  be  cod- 
dled through  bad  weather  and  favored  above  their 
neighbors  always  give  a  suggestion  of  unnaturalness 
to  the  place.  They  seem  to  be  exotic, — foreign  to  the 
situation.  The  perfectly  wild  garden,  able  to  care  for 
itself  and  always  at  home  with  its  surroundings,  has 
a  certain  permanency  and  unity  of  effect  which  no 
other  garden  can  have. 

Shrubs  should  be  given  proper  pruning;  but  they 
should  be  spared  the  sort  they  often  get.  Only  in 
very  exceptional  circumstances  should  the  tops  be 
sheared,  or  the  growth  cut  back  at  the  extremities. 
This  spoils  at  once  the  graceful  drooping  habit 
which  is  separately  characteristic  of  almost  every 
species.    When  the  pruning  knife  and  the  shears  are 


THE    BEST    SHRUBS.  II/ 

to  be  applied  to  any  shrub,  they  should  usually  cut 
out  at  the  base.  Old,  straggling  stems  are  cut  away, 
and  fresh,  clean,  vigorous  sprouts  come  up  in  their 
places.  Many  species,  like  the  sumachs,  give  the 
best  results  if  they  are  cut  back  almost  annually 
quite  to  the  ground,  and  allowed  to  sprout  afresh 
from  the  stools. 

Alder. — Several  of  the  alders  make  very  useful 
shrubs  for  border  planting,  particularly  the  European 
alder,  which  is  rather  a  small  tree  if  full  grown.  The 
Green  or  Mountain  alder,  Alnus  viridis,  is  one  of  the 
best,  three  to  eight  feet  tall.  Alnus  incana  is  a  good 
plant  of  its  size,  eight  to  twenty  feet. 

Amalanchier  Canadensis,  Juneberry,  Shad  Bush. 
— The  dwarf  varieties,  two  to  five  feet  high,  are  best 
for  planting. 

Amorpha  fruticosa.  False  Indigo. — A  good,  hardy 
shrub.  Amorpha  canescens,  Lead  plant,  is  mostly  her- 
baceous, with  fine,  soft,  silvery  foliage,  and  well  worth 
more  extensive  planting.  It  has  beautiful  spikes  of 
deep  violet-purple  flowers.    One  to  three  feet. 

Aralia  spinosa.  Hercules  Club. — Bears  immense 
leaves  which  give  a  striking,  somewhat  tropical  effect. 
Six  to  eighteen  feet. 

Berberis,  Barberry. — Very  useful  shrubs.  The 
common  species  is  from  Europe,  but  is  naturalized  in 
many  parts  of  the  eastern  states.  The  Purple-leaved 
barberry  is  a  variety  of  this.  B.  Thiinhergn  is  a  small 
shrub  from  Japan  with  beautiful,  delicate  foliage,  tak- 
ing a  fine  red  color  after  frost. 

Calycanthus  floridus.  Spice  Bush. — A  small 
shrub  with  very  sweet-scented  flowers. 

Caragana,  Pea  Tree. — C.  frutescens  is  a  low  shrub, 
bearing  an  abundance  of  bright  yellow,  pea-like  flowers 
in  spring.    C.  arborescens  is  similar,  but  larger, 

Cephalanthus  occidentalis.  Button  Bush. — A 
hardy   native   shrub   of   wide   distribution,   making  a 


Il8  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

round  head ;  foliage  good ;  flowers  white,  abundant,  in 
globular  heads  in  spring.     Four  to  .eight  feet. 

Cercis  Canadensis,  Judas  tree,  Red  bud. — A  small 
tree  with  pretty  bark  and  fine  foliage ;  covered  with  red 
blossoms  early  in  spring  before  the  appearance  of 
leaves. 

Chionanthus  Virginica,  Fringe  tree. — A  large 
shrub  or  small  tree,  inclined  to  bear  too  little  foliage, 
but  having  an  abundance  of  white  blossoms  about  lilac- 
flowering  time. 

Clethra  alnifolia.  White  Alder. — A  useful  native 
shrub.    Three  to  ten  feet. 

CoRNUs,  Dogwood.  The  dogwoods  are  among  our 
best  shrubs.  No  one  should  think  of  planting  a  place 
without  them.  The  native  red-branched  species,  C. 
stolonifera  and  C.  Baileyi,  are  especially  desirable.  C. 
panicidata  is  also  a  native  species,  a  good  grower,  and 
desirable  for  its  flowers.  C.  sericea,  C.  mas,  C.  san- 
giiinea  and  C.  florida  are  all  good. 

Cydonia  Japonica  (Pyriis  Japonica),  Japan  quince. 
— Much  cultivated  in  this  country.  Desirable  chiefly 
on  account  of  its  brilliant  scarlet  flowers  in  early 
spring. 

Daphne. — D.  mesereum  is  a  deciduous  low  shrub 
with  rose-colored  flowers ;  one  to  three  feet.  D.  cneo- 
riim  is  a  hardy,  evergreen  undershrub  from  Europe, 
and  a  great  favorite  with  some  planters. 

Deutzia. — The  deutzias  are  not  quite  hardy  in  the 
north,  but  can  usually  be  depended  on  in  the  middle 
states,  where  they  are  very  valuable.  There  are  three 
useful  species :  D.  crenata,  D.  scahra  and  D.  gracilis. 

DiERViLLA  FLORIDA,  Wcigclia. — Included  in  this  spe- 
cies are  most  of  the  shrubs  sold  as  Diervilla  rosea,  Wei- 
gelia  alba,  etc.  There  are  many  varieties,  mostly  hardy, 
good  growers  and  profuse  bloomers.  The  foliage,  how- 
ever, is  a  trifle  coarse. 

Elder. — The  common  American    elder,    Sambucns 


THE   BEST   SHRUBS. 


119 


Canadensis,  Fig.  29,  is  a  shrub  of  no  mean  artistic 
capabilities.  It  is  fine  for  massing  against  trees  and 
along  woodland  borders,  and  for  working  into  various 
compositions.  The  Golden  elder  is  a  pretty  shrub  for 
use  in  limited  quantity. 

El^agnus^  Oleaster. — E.  longipes  has  been  widely 
sold  in  recent  years  and  is  a  good  shrub,  with  orna- 
mental and  edible  fruit.  E.  argentea  is  also  planted, 
but  is  not  so  desirable. 


Fig.   29.     THE   AMERICAN    ELDER. 


EuONYMUS  ATROPURPUREus,  Burning  bush,  or 
Strawberry  tree. — Well-known  shrub  with  bright  orna- 
mental fruit  which  persists  long  into  the  winter.  Not 
hardy  in  the  north. 

ExocHORDA  GRANDiFLORA. — A  fine  shrub,  bearing 
beautiful  white  blossoms  in  spring.  Deserves  more 
general  planting. 

Forsyth lA,  Golden-Bell. — One  of  the  very  finest 
shrubs  for  the  latitude  of  New  York  and  southward, 
especially  F.'z.'/nW/.y.y/ma  and  the  commercial  F.Fortiinei, 


120 


LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 


which  bear  great  quantities  of  brilHant  yellow  flowers 
in  early  spring.  These  are  quite  commonly  planted  and 
form  one  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  the  spring 
landscape  in  parts  of  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Dela- 
ware, Maryland  and  Virginia.  Forsythia  suspensa  of 
the  catalogs  is  a  weeping  or  semi-prostrate  form. 

Hydrangea  paniculata  grandiflora,  The  Hardy 
Hydrangea. — There  are  several  forms  of  this,  but  the 


Fig.  30.     THE   USE  OF  SHRUBS. 


Spreading  shrub  with  large  flowers  is  best.  One  of  the 
best  and  most  reliable  hardy  shrubs,  giving  a  great 
abundance  of  showy  white  flowers  in  autumn  when 
blossoms  are  few.    Four  to  eight  feet. 

Hypericum,  St.  John's  Wort. — Small  native  shrubs 
of  considerable  usefulness,  of  which  the  best  species 
are  H.  Kalmianum,  H.  prolificum  and  H.  aureiim. 

Kerria  Japonica. — A  pretty  shrub  with  slender, 
delicate,  bright  green  twigs,  fresh  green  leaves  and 
handsome  yellow  flowers.  Well  worth  planting.  Three 
to  eight  feet. 


THE    BEST    SHRUBS.  121 

LiGUSTRUM,,  Privet. — One  of  the  best  shrubby  hedge 
plants,  but  available  also  for  massing.  Hardy  and 
thrifty  and  bears  shearing.  The  species  mostly  grown 
are  L.  vulgar e  and  L.  ovalifolinm. 

Lilac  (Botanically  Syringa). — The  lilacs  are  old 
and  never-to-be-forgotten  favorites.  They  are  capable 
of  much  greater  beauty  than  is  usually  realized.  They 
should  be  kept  cut  back  to  a  reasonable  height,  the  old 
wood  thinned  out,  and  a  fresh,  vigorous  growth  kept 
up  by  liberal  manuring.  The  fine  new  varieties,  with 
magnificent  large  single  or  double  flowers  in  numerous 
extremely  rich  colors,  offer  a  chance  for  many  new 
experiences  with  these  old  favorites.  Sometimes  the 
finer  varieties  may  be  successfully  grafted  upon  old, 
established  plants  which  give  inferior  blossoms. 

LoNiCERA  TARTARiCA,  Bush  Houeysucklc. — A  very 
common  and  very  useful  shrub.  A  profuse  bloomer. 
Very  hardy.    Four  to  eight  feet. 

Myrica  Gale,  Sweet  gale,  and  Myrica  asplenifolia, 
Sweet  Fern,  are  well  known,  small  native  shrubs  which 
add  very  much  to  certain  effects  when  judiciously  set 
in  small  masses  in  the  shrubbery  border. 

Philadelphus,  Syringa,  Alock  Orange. — These 
shrubs  are  most  remarkable  for  their  abundance  of 
v-ery  fragrant  white  flowers  in  spring.  Like  lilacs, 
they  need  to  be  rigorously  clipped  out  to  prevent  the 
accumulation  of  old,  unsightly  wood.  The  best  plan  is 
to  cut  all  the  stems  back  to  the  ground  at  three  or  four 
years  old,  or  even  at  two  years  old  if  the  growth  of 
new  wood  justifies  it.  This  keeps  up  a  rotation  of 
fresh,  clean  shoots.  The  best  species  are  P.  grandifto- 
rns,  P.  corouarius  and  P.  Gordouiauus.   Six  to  ten  feet. 

Potentilla  fruttcosa.  Cinquefoil. — A  native  shrub 
with  bright  yellow  flowers.  Hardy  and  inclined  to  be 
weedy  in  some  sandy  soils.    Three  to  four  feet. 

Prunus,  Plums  and  Cherries. — Nearly  all  the  native 
plums  and  cherries  are  worth  planting  for  ornamental 


122  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

purposes.  The  Beach  phim,  P run  us  maritima,  is  one 
of  the  most  useful,  though  for  larger  plants  selected 
varieties  of  P.  Americana  make  the  finest  of  small 
trees.  The  Sand  cherries,  P.  pumila,  and  P.  Besseyi, 
growing  from  two  to  five  feet  high,  are  -excellent; 
while  for  heavy  masses  in  certain  places  the  common 
Choke  cherry  is  one  of  the  best  species  known.  It  is 
vigorous,  clean  and  healthy  though  occasionally  de- 
nuded by  caterpillars. 

Rhododendrons. — These  magnificent  ornamental 
plants  are  hardy  in  most  situations  and  not  usually 
difficult  to  grow.  There  are  many  wonderful  and 
striking  varieties  offered  by  the  nurserymen,  but  the 
beginner  will  hardly  be  able  to  discriminate  their 
merits. 

Rhus,  Sumach. — The  sumachs  are  mostly  all  very 
hardy  and  good  ornamental  plants.  Their  spreading, 
luxuriant  pinnate  foliage  gives  a  peculiar  and  some- 
what tropical  suggestion.  In  most  places  they  are  best 
if  the  old  growth  is  constantly  cut  out  and  the  vigorous 
young  shoots  depended  on.  Their  colors  in  autumn 
are  especially  desirable.  Rhus  glabra  is  probably  best, 
followed  by  R.  copallina  and  R.  typhina.  R.  Cotinus, 
the  Smoke  tree,  is  quite  different  from  the  others.  It 
is  a  well  known  shrub,  five  to  ten  feet  high,  bearing 
large  feathery  wands  of  reddish  or  purplish  abortive 
blossoms. 

RiBES  AUREUM. — A  native  currant,  now  often  culti- 
vated for  fruit  as  well  as  for  ornament.  It  bears  many 
pretty,  spicy,  sweet-scented,  bright  yellow  flowers  in 
spring,  and  always  shows  a  clean,  attractive  foliage. 
Four  to  seven  feet.  Other  impedes  of  currants  and 
gooseberries  are  also  useful  in  shrubbery  masses. 

Roses. — Hardy  flowering  roses  are  usually  best 
planted  in  beds  by  themselves ;  but  many  of  the  native 
species  are  remarkably  fine  if  grown  in  the  border 
with  the  other  shrubbery.    Rosa  lucida,  R.  blanda  and 


THE    BEST    SHRUBS.  I23 

nearly  all  the  native  species  may  be  planted.  The 
Sweet  Brier  and  the  Prairie  rose,  R.  setigera,  are 
among  the  best.  The  Japanese  rose,  R.  riigosa,  is  also 
a  very  fine  shrub  for  general  planting. 

RuBUS  ODORATus. — The  flowering  raspberry  is  one 
of  the  most  useful  and  neglected  of  native  shrubs.  It 
should  generally  be  used  in  small  masses  for  the  em- 
phasis which  its  large,  striking  foliage  gives.  Three 
to  five  feet.  Other  brambles  are  very  useful  in  many 
places. 

Salix^  Willow. — Most  of  the  willows  tend  to  be 
trees  rather  than  shrubs,  but  many  of  them  can  be 
grown  as  shrubs  if  severely  cut  back.  They  are  espe- 
cially desirable  for  the  delicate  gray-greens  which  they 
give  in  spring,  and  some  of  them  for  the  brightness  of 
their  twigs  in  winter.  Salix  vitellina  of  horticulturists 
has  beautiful  bright  golden  twigs.  6".  lucida  is  espe- 
cially remarkable  for  its  shining  foliage.  The  so-called 
weeping  willows  grafted  in  the  top  of  a  straight  trunk 
are  to  be  avoided. 

Spir^as  form,  on  the  whole,  the  finest  and  most 
useful  group  of  shrubs  we  have.  Their  hardiness, 
thrift,  grace,  floriferousness,  all  recommend  them. 
Probably  the  best  one  is  the  horticulturist's  Spircea  Van 
Houttci,  sometimes  called  Bridal  Wreath.  No  grounds 
anywhere  ought  to  lack  this.  Then  come  S.  prunifoUa 
and  S.  hypericifolia.  The  former  has  specially  beauti- 
ful foliage.  The  latter  is  much  like  a  small  edition  of 
Van  Houtt.  6^.  Thunhcrgii  is  small  (one  to  three  feet) 
and  very  delicate  and  graceful  in  growth  and  in  foliage, 
but  not  fully  hardy  northward.  The  golden  spiraea 
{S.  aurea,  Hort.)  is  a  fine,  upright  grower,  with  good, 
yellowish  foliage,  and  bright  stems  in  winter.  Four  to 
ten  feet. 

Symphoricarpus  racemosus,  Snowberry. — A  good 
native  shrub,  with  white  berries  in  autumn.  Two  to 
five  feet.     5'.  vulgaris,  Coral  berry  or  Indian  currant, 


124  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

is  very  common  in  the  central  and  western  states,  and  Is 
well  worth  planting.  It  is  graceful  of  growth  and  bears 
quantities  of  persistent  bright  red  berries.  Two  to  five 
feet. 

Viburnum  opulus.  Snowball  or  Guelder  rose. — 
This  is  a  fine,  strong-growing  shrub  giving  abundant 
white  blossoms.  Other  viburnums  are  also  desirable, 
as  V.  plicatum,  V.  lantanoides,  V.  tomentosmn,  etc. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

HARDY    PERENNIALS. 

Die  Zahl  der  Freunde  von  Stauden  oder  perennierenden 
Gewaechsen  hat  in  den  letzten  Jahren  ganz  bedeutend  zugenom- 
men;  man  darf  nur  bei  einem  Ausflug  die  Gaerten  und  Gaert- 
chen  der  Blumenfreunde,  in  der  Stadt,  wie  auf  dem  Lande  auf- 
merksam  betrachten,  da  wird  man  beobachten  koennen,  dass 
Stauden  schon  viel  Verwendung  gefunden  haben  und  hoffentlich 
noch  mehr  finden  werden. 

J.  Biemueller. 

The  hardy  herbaceous  perennials,  as  a  class,  are  the 
easiest  to  manage,  the  cheapest  and  the  most  natural- 
istic in  the  effect  they  give,  of  all  the  plants  that  grow. 
When  once  planted  they  need  very  little  further  care. 
Many  of  them  need  none  at  all,  and  will  thrive  and 
multiply  for  years  in  the  grass  or  among  the  shrubs 
without  the  slightest  attention.  Growing  thus  at  full 
freedom  they  give  a  wild,  woodsy  air  to  a  place  which 
nothing  else  can  furnish  quite  so  well.  Their  ability 
to  take  care  of  themselves  year  after  year  makes  them 
very  cheap.  There  has  been  a  very  healthy  and  grati- 
fying tendency  in  recent  years  toward  the  more  gen- 
eral use  of  such  material,  but  there  is  no  likelihood  that 
it  will  soon  be  overdone. 

Hardy  perennials  may  be  used  in  almost  any  situa- 
tion where  plants  are  wanted  at  all.  They  may  grow 
under  the  trees,  among  the  shrubs,  in  rockeries,  along 
the  borders  of  ponds  and  rivulets,  on  sloping  banks,  in 
borders  by  themselves,  in  shade  or  sun ;  in  fact,  it  is 
very  hard  to  go  amiss  with  them  unless,  indeed,  they 
are  put  into  flower  beds.  It  is  a  very  convenient  way  to 
outline  a  border  with  herbaceous  perennials,  among 
which  and  in  front  of  which  the  annuals  are  planted 
from  year  to  year.     One  of  the  best  ways  is  to  mix 

125 


126  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

them  with  the  shrubbery,  usually,  of  course,  bringing 
them  somewhat  in  front  of  the  larger  woody  shrubs,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  31.  Many  of  them  are  excellent  simply 
scattered  thickly  in  the  grass.  Here  they  become  natu- 
ralized and  lead  their  own  careless-thrifty  lives.  But- 
tercups and  daisies  live  in  that  way.  Columbines  and 
goldenrods  give  great  satisfaction   when   similarly 

a 


Fig.   31.     SUGGESTION    FOR    BORDER    PLANTING. 
For    planting    with     perennials:     a,    Papaver    nudicaule,     Iceland     poppy, 

b,  Pentstemon  acuminatus.  c.  Phlox  hybrids,  d,  Aster  Novae -Angliae.  e, 
Aquilegia  chrysantha,  columbine,  f.  Hollyhocks.  g.  Coreopsis  grandi' 
flora,     h.    Chrysanthemum    maximum,     i.   Peonies,   or   Oenothera   Fraseri. 

For   planting   with    annuals:    a.    Nasturtiums,    dwarf,      b,    Shirley    poppies. 

c,  Gaillardia  Lorenziana.  d,  Branching  asters,  e,  Antirrhinum,  snapdragon. 
/,  Sunflower,  "Stella."  g,  Coreopsis  Drummondii,  "Golden  Wave."  h. 
Petunias.     /,  Phlox  Drummondii. 

For    mixed    planting:    a.    Nasturtiums,      b,    Shirley    poppies,      c.    Gladioli. 

d,  Branching  asters,  e,  Aquilegia  chrysantha,  columbine.  /,  Helianthus  orgy- 
clis.  Willow-leaved  sunflower,  g.  Calendula,  or  Large  Marigolds,  h.  Digi- 
talis gloxinaeflora,  foxglove,     i,  Lilium   speciosum   rubrum. 

grown.  So  do  anemones,  trilliums,  asters,  claytonias, 
erigerons,  pentstemons,  and  many  others.  Of  course, 
the  most  of  these  cannot  be  grown  in  a  lawn  which  is 
kept  mowed ;  but  there  should  be  some  unmowed  lawn 
on  any  place  which  has  the  room. 

Many  of  the  hardy  per-ennials  can  be  grown  easily 
from  seed.  Usually  it  is  best  to  sow  the  seed  in  a  spe- 
cially prepared  bed  or  cold  frame,  from  which  the  seed- 
lings are  transplanted  to  pots,  nursery  rows,  or  directly 
to  their  permanent  places.     Many  of  them  are  propa- 


HARDY    PERENNIALS.  12/ 

gated  more  easily  by  division.  Or  the  ready-grown 
plants  may  be  bought  directly  from  the  nurseryman ; 
and  as  each  investment  in  such  plants  is  a  permanent 
one,  the  expense  is  comparatively  small. 

It  would  be  entirely  impossible,  within  the  limits  of 
this  work,  to  enumerate  and  describe  the  most  of  the 
good  herbaceous  perennials.  The  following  list  is 
offered  merely  as  a  suggestion  to  those  who  are  very 
much  unacquainted  with  such  plants.  The  author  has 
endeavored  to  select  those  easiest  to  grow  and  of  widest 
usefulness ;  but  as  such  a  selection  is  a  very  personal 
matter  anyone  else  who  is  acquainted  with  herbaceous 
perennials  will  be  likely  to  choose  a  somewhat  different 
list. 

AcoNiTUM,  Monkshood. — A  charming  group  of 
plants,  though  some  are  poisonous.  The  best  are  A. 
napellus,  A.  aiitiimnale  and  A.  iinciuatum. 

Anemone,  Wind  Flower. — In  many  species  and 
varieties,  all  good.  Mostly  flowering  early;  usually 
white,  sometimes  blue.  Among  the  best  are  A.  sylves- 
tris,  A.  nemorosa,  A.  Pennsylvanica,  A.  patens  Nuttal- 
liana,  A.  Japonica,  and  many  horticultural  varieties, 
both  double  and  single. 

Aquilegia,  Columbine. — One  of  the  most  valuable 
groups  of  hardy  plants.  Easy  to  grow  from  seed.  The 
best  species  are  A.  Canadensis,  A.  cmriilea,  A.  vulgaris 
and  A.  chrysantha,  though  there  are  many  other 
fine  ones. 

AscLEPiAS  contains  several  good  plants,  of  which 
A.  tuber osa  is  best.  It  grows  in  tufts,  twelve  to  eight- 
een inches  high,  with  large  heads  of  orange  blossoms  in 
midsummer. 

Aster. — Several  of  the  asters  are  hardy  perennials, 
and  many  are  very  ornamental.  The  following  deserve 
special  mention:  A.  Iccvis,  A.  N over- Angl ice,  A.  Novi- 
Belgii,  A.  cordifolius,  A.  alpinus,  A.  ericoides. 

Bocconia  cordata  (B.  Japonica). — A  large,  strong- 


128  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

growing  plant,  with  large  leaves.  Fine  for  emphasis  at 
medium  distances.    Five  to  eight  feet. 

Callirhoe  involucrata. — A  good,  small,  trailing 
plant  with  an  abundance  of  purplish  flowers. 

Campanula,  Bluebell,  Harebell. — Easy  to  grow  and 
always  attractive.  The  genus  numbers  several  fine  spe- 
cies, such  as  C.  Carpathica,  C.  medium,  C.  nobilis,  C. 
punctata,  C.  rotundifolia,  C.  grandisj  etc. 

Chrysanthemum. — This  genus  contains  several 
hardy  species,  some  of  them  known  as  daisies  or  mar- 
guerites. Probably  C.  maximum  is  the  best,  though 
others  are  very  good. 

Coreopsis. — Fine,  free-flowering  plants  with  large, 
golden  blossoms.  C.  grandiflora  and  C.  lanccolata  are 
the  best  of  the  perennial  species.    Fine  for  cut  flowers. 

Delphinium,  Larkspur. — The  perennial  larkspurs 
are  very  showy  and  valuable  plants.  They  may  be  had 
in  numerous  species  and  varieties.  Those  commonly 
grown  are  hybrids. 

Digitalis,  Foxglove. — Well-known  plants  of  easiest 
culture,  free  flowering  and  always  desirable.  The  com- 
monest species,  with  very  large  flowers  in  a  variety  of 
colors,  goes  under  the  doubtful  name  of  D.  gloxinicc- 
flora;  but  D.  lanata,  D.  Siherica  and  D.  grandiflora  are 
equally  fine. 

Helenium. — A  very  fine  and  striking  plant,  partic- 
ularly the  variety,  H.  autumnalc  supcrhum.  Furnishes 
a  dazzling  glow  of  yellow  late  in  summer  when  flow- 
ers are  scarce.     Six  to  eight  feet. 

Helianthus,  Sunflower. — Some  of  the  perennial 
species  are  very  useful  in  border  composition.  The  best 
are  H.  Maximillani  and  H.  orgy  alls.  These  give  very 
striking,  though  easy  and  natural,  effects. 

Hollyhock. — The  old  favorite,  and  one  of  the  most 
artistically  effective  plants  known.  In  many  colors, 
single  and  double.  Subject  to  severe  attacks  of  rust, 
which  sometimes  kill  the  plants.     In  such  cases  burn 


HARDY   PERENNIALS. 


129 


the  old  plants  and  all  the  litter  around  them  and  plant 
anew  in  a  different  spot. 

Lepachys. — A  very  desirable  genus  comprising  only 
a  few  species,  of  which  L.  pinnata  and  L.  columnaris 
are  worth  first  trial. 


n 

m^^>''^':''4 

1 

feS 

'-  ^q  ''""'^^^^^HSMB 

J 

|RS'4ft 

flK^Pi|Pv^  ■  ~    '^ 

1 

, M 

4>i 

Fig.  32.     PHLOX  AND  FUNKIA. 

CEnothera. — Comprises  several  good  species, 
mostly  with  large  yellow  flowers.  The  best  are  CE. 
Missouriensis,  CE.  fruticosa  major  and  CE.  Fraseri. 

Papaver^  Poppy. — One  of  the  most  delicate  and 
beautiful  of  hardy  plants  is  the  Iceland  poppy,  Papaver 


130  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

niidicaide.  The  Royal  scarlet  poppy,  P.  orientalc,  is  a 
large  and  very  showy  species. 

Pentstemon. — This  genus  numbers  several  of  the 
very  best  herbaceous  plants  known  to  horticulture. 
They  are  hardy  and  easy  to  manage.  Among  the  best 
are  P.  digitalis,  P.  grandiftonis,  P.  puhcscens,  P.  con- 
fertus,  P.  barbatiis  Torreyi,  P.  aciiminatus  and  P. 
ovatiis.  There  are  several  others,  and  not  a  poor  one 
among  them. 

Peony. — Too  well  known  to  need  remark.  Usually 
grown  alone  on  the  lawn,  but  much  finer  when  massed 
in  the  border  against  the  shrubbery.  Propagate  by 
division. 

Phlox. — The  well-known  and  showy  perennial 
phlox  of  the  gardens  is  P.  paniciilata,  often  called  P. 
deciissata,  which  has  numberless  fine  varieties.  Several 
of  the  native  species  are  also  very  useful  for  border 
planting,  especially  P.  maculata  and  P.  divaricata. 

RuDBECKiA,  Coneflower. — Large,  strong-growing, 
hardy  plants.  The  best  is  the  new  variety,  Golden 
Glow,  which  belongs  to  the  species  R.  laciniata.  R. 
maxima,  R.  hirta  and  R.  Nezvmanii  are  excellent. 

SoLiDAGO,  Goldenrod. — A  characteristically  Amer- 
ican genus  of  incomparable  beauty.  The  only  reason 
people  do  not  plant  them  extensively  is  that  they  grow 
wild  so  abundantly.  But  no  garden  should  be  without 
its  masses  of  goldenrod.  The  best  species  for  planting 
are  S.  Canadensis,  S.  scmpervirens,  S.  jnncea,  S,  nemo- 
ralis  and  5^.  speciosa. 

Spir.ea. — Several  of  the  spirseas  are  herbaceous. 
They  are  al^  useful.  The  best  known  are  S.  aruncus, 
S.  astilboidc/.  S.  palmata  and  S.  venusta. 

Trillium. — One  of  the  most  beautiful  blossoms  of 
early  spring.  T.  grandiflorum,  bearing  large,  pure 
white  flowers,  is  best.    Prefers  a  somewhat  shady  place. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  INDISPENSABLE  ANNUALS. 

The  greatest  possibilities  with  color  in  the  garden  depend  upon 
the  annuals.  F.  Schuyler  Mathews. 

For   the   best    and   most   continuous    display    of   flowers    during 
the  whole  summer  season,  annual  plants   are  essential. 

E.  O.  Orpet. 

The  old-fashioned  flower  gardens  were  largely  made 
up  of  annuals.  Among  flowers,  by  far  the  larger  part 
of  the  old-time  favorites  were  annuals ;  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  nine  out  of  ten  persons  to-day,  if  asked  to 
mention  their  favorite  flowers  (florists'  stock  ex- 
cepted), would  name  annuals.  Sweet  peas,  pansies, 
asters,  cosmos,  nasturtiums, — these  have  a  hold  on 
people  which  they  will  never  lose. 

And  so,  while  it  is  possible  to  find  many  pleasant 
gardens, — in  snug  back  yards,  or  window  boxes  or 
tomato  cans — without  trees  and  shrubs  and  perennials, 
the  annuals  are  omnipresent.  Their  great  variety,  their 
adaptability  to  all  needs  and  circumstances,  the  innum- 
erable, characteristically  beautiful  ways  they  have  of 
expressing  themselves,  make  them  always  indispensable. 

Almost  all  of  the  annuals  may  be  grown  successfully 
by  sowing  the  seeds  where  the  plants  are  to  stand.  This 
is  done  when  the  weather  is  warm  enough  in  spring, 
and  as  soon  as  the  soil  is  in  good  workable  condition. 
The  seed  bed  should  always  be  thoroughly  prepared, 
with  good  drainage  and  an  abundance  of  well-decom- 
posed fertilizer  worked  in.  But  it  is  mu-^h  the  best 
plan,  especially  in  northern  latitudes,  wh  ;ever  it  can 
be  done,  to  start  the  plants  in  hotbeds,  cold  frames,* 


♦Directions  for  making  cold  frames  and  hotbeds  of  all  sorts  may  be 
found  in  any  general  work  on  gardening.  See  Bailey's  Garden-Making, 
Taft's  Greenhouse  Construction.    Henderson's  Gardening  for  Profit,  etc.,  etc. 

131  -^ 


132  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 


Fig.  33. ,  SHIRLEY    POPPIES    IN    THE    GARDEN    BORDER. 


THE   INDISPENSABLE   ANNUALS.  I33 

greenhouses,  or  boxes  of  earth  in  the  house,  from 
which  they  are  transplanted  to  the  open  ground.  Con- 
siderable time  is  gained  in  this  way, — often  one  or  two 
months.  Nearly  all  the  annual  species  may  be  handled 
in  this  way.  There  are  a  few  exceptions.  But  many 
sorts  make  much  better  plants  by  transplanting;  and  it 
is  often  advisable  to  transplant  the  seedlings  once  be- 
fore they  reach  their  final  stations  in  the  grounds. 

The  commonest  error,  in  growing  annuals,  is  to  plant 
them  in  flower  beds.  This  mistake  is  frequently  made 
with  other  plants,  but  never  so  persistently  and  dis- 
astrously as  with  phloxes,  zinnias,  marigolds  and  their 
like.  If  a  strictly  geometrical  scheme  is  intended,  or  if 
the  garden  is  one  of  the  old  Italian  style,  with  a  high 
wall  about  it,  then  flower  beds  will  fit  the  place.  But 
in  the  free  and  natural  door-yard  gardening,  with 
which  we  are  most  concerned,  the  whole  picture  is 
sadly  disfigured  when  it  is  cut  full  of  holes  to  receive 
strange,  detached  bunches  of  unwilling  flowers  in 
varied  assortment.  There  they  stand  about  uncom- 
fortably through  the  summer,  each  bunch  of  flowers 
jealous  of  its  neighbors,  all  appearing  to  be  afraid  of 
overstepping  the  circumscribing  bricks,  stones  or  oyster 
shells  which  hem  them  in,  all  chafing  at  the  restraint, 
and  all  wishing  they  were  safely  away  in  the  woods, 
where  they  might  clamber  down  the  banks  or  revel  in 
the  grass  the  way  flowers  were  meant  to  do. 

The  annual  plants  ought  to  be  put,  not  into  beds, 
but  into  the  borders  with  the  perennials  and  the  shrubs. 
Or  if  shrubs  and  perennials  are  not  grown,  then  the 
annuals  have  the  border  to  themselves.  Arranged  in 
this  way,  they  are  capable  of  some  of  the  most  brilliant 
and  satisfying  effects  which  plants  can  ever  give.  In 
the  irregularity  and  informality  of  the  border  it  makes 
no  difference  if  one  plant  or  a  whole  lot  of  plants  fails 
to  grow.  The  irregularity  is  not  destroyed!  Or  if 
some  celandines  or  dandelions  crowd  into  a  half  occu- 


134  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

pied  nook  somewhere,  there  is  no  harm  done,  for  flow- 
ers are  what  we  want.  It  would  be  different  if  we 
wanted  flower  beds. 

The  first  and  easiest  and  greatest  improvement  to 
be  made  in  hundreds  of  front  yards  would  be  to  obliter- 
ate the  flower  beds  entirely, — sod  them  over,  and  leave 
an  open  greensward  where  they  have  stood  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  lawn, — and  move  the  flowers  into  the  side 
borders. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  describe  the  principal  an- 
nuals nor  to  give  directions  for  their  cultivation;  but 
the  following  partial  list,  with  scattering  notes,  is 
appended  merely  as  a  suggestion  of  the  manifold  riches 
at  command. 

Asters. — The  annual  or  "China"  asters  have  been 
very  much  improved  in  recent  years.  The  old-time 
asters  were  too  stiff  and  formal  to  gain  much  sympa- 
thy, but  the  new  sorts,  particularly  the  branching  and 
the  chrysanthemum  flowering  sections,  are  free  and 
graceful  and  very  fine.  The  new  Japanese  asters  are 
also  informal  and  agreeable.  The  better  strains  of  the 
German  quilled  asters  are  extremely  good,  and  quite 
different  from  other  varieties.  Asters  should  always 
be  started  in  a  hotbed  and  transplanted  if  possible. 

Alyssum. — A  good  old  favorite.  Works  nicely  into 
the  edges  of  the  flower  border. 

Ageratum. — Constant  bloomer  during  summer,  in 
white  and  bright  blue;  good  in  the  edges  of  borders. 
Six  to  eighteen  inches  high. 

Antirrhinum^  Snapdragon. — Many  fine  colors, 
from  white  nearly  to  black,  in  dwarf  and  standard 
varieties.  To  be  used  mostly  in  small  masses.  Six 
inches  to  two  feet. 

Balsams. — Old-time  favorites,  but  not  very  useful 
in  composition  with  other  plants.  They  do  not  trans- 
plant well. 

Calendula,  called  Pot  Marigold  by  some. — Thrifty 


THE   INDISPENSABLE   ANNUALS.  I35 

and  a  constant  bloomer,  mostly  in  yellow  and  orange 
shades.    Ten  to  eighteen  inches. 

Candytuft, — Good,  free  flowering,  hardy  border 
plant,  in  several  colors,  pure  white  being  best. 

Centaurea,  Corn  Bottle,  Blue  Bottle,  or  Bachelor's 
Button. — Another  old  favorite,  running  mostly  to  light 
blues.  A  new  strain  of  Marguerite  centaureas  has  a 
better  form  and  more  substance  to  the  blossoms. 

Celosia^  including  Cockscomb.  This  group  num- 
bers some  very  ornamental  plants,  especially  the  feath- 
ered varieties  and  those  with  ornamental  foliage. 

Coreopsis,  Calliopsis. — All  bright  yellows,  with  un- 
important exceptions.  Some  of  the  finest  flowering 
plants  grown  for  border  or  for  cut  flowers.  C.  Drum- 
mondii  (var.  Golden  Wave)  is  best  of  the  annual 
species.  C.  tinctoria  gives  many  pretty  dwarf  vari-eties, 
and  some  with  quilled,  others  with  dark  maroon,  blos- 
soms.   One  to  three  feet. 

Cosmos. — One  of  the  finest  annuals,  especially  south- 
ward. Does  not  succeed  well  at  the  north.  In  white 
and  several  shades  of  pink  and  red.  The  white  blos- 
soms are  prettiest.    Three  to  six  fe-et. 

Datura,  Horn  of  Plenty,  ''Jimpson  Weed." — A 
large,  coarse  plant,  giving  a  striking  effect  at  a  little 
distance.  Has  conspicuous,  large  white  flowers.  Four 
to  eight  feet. 

DiANTHus,  Pink. — ^A  good  old  favorite,  and  worth 
more  general  cultivation  at  the  present  time.  Many 
colors,  single  and  double. 

Gaillardia. — Fine  flowers  for  border  and  for  cut- 
ting ;  reds  and  yellows ;  somewhat  daisy-like  in  form, 
except  the  double  G.  Lorenziana.  Worth  more  exten- 
sive cultivation. 

Nasturtium,  Tropoeolum. — One  of  the  richest  .and 
finest  annual  plants  in  cultivation  and  deservedly  popu- 
lar. All  varieties  may  be  grown  in  the  border,  though 
the  dwarfs  are  best.    The  tall  sorts  are  extremely  well 


136  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

adapted  to  window  boxes,  lawn  vases,  and  to  situations 
where  they  may  fall  over  rocks  or  down  short  slopes. 
The  new  hybrids  of  Madame  Gunter  show  many  beau- 
tiful colors. 

Pansy. — Known  and  admired  of  all.  For  small 
plantings  buy  plants  of  the  florist  in  spring.  To  grow 
the  plants  sow  the  seed  in  the  fall  in  cold  frames,  which 
are  covered  at  the  beginning  of  winter.  Transplant 
from  these  early  in  spring.  Or  sow  the  seeds  as  early 
as  possible  in  spring  in  the  hotbed  or  in  pots  or  boxes 
in  the  house.    Buy  good  seed. 

Petunia. — Very  fine  for  heavy  masses  in  the  flower 
border.  A  solid  block  of  petunias  thirty  or  forty  feet 
across  gives  a  very  striking  effect,  if  not  out  of  har- 
mony with  its  surroundings.  The  free  and  easy  luxu- 
riance of  growth  and  profusion  of  bloom  cannot  be 
surpassed  by  anything  in  the  garden.  Extra  choice 
varieties  may  easily  be  grown  from  cuttings ;  but  main 
dependence  ma}^  be  placed  on  seedlings  grown  in  fall, 
winter  or  early  spring,  and  transplanted  to  the  open 
ground  after  all  danger  of  frost  is  past. 

Phlox. — The  annual  Phlox  Drummondii  is  one  of 
the  finest  border  plants.  Many  people  have  become 
indifferent  to  it  from  having  seen  it  so  often  grown  in 
stiff,  awkward  flower  beds.  Such  treatment  takes  all 
the  grace  and  freedom  out  of  the  plant,  which  is  in- 
clined by  nature  to  be  a  trifle  stiff  and  serious.  But 
when  it  is  allowed  to  form  free,  irregular  masses  in  the 
border,  properly  supported  by  other  flowers,  it  is  a  very 
charming  plant. 

Poppy. — The  annual  poppies  are  very  striking  in 
color  and  graceful  in  form.  They  always  seem  at  home 
in  the  mixed  border,  harmonizing  with  almost  anything. 
The  Shirley  poppies  are  especially  desirable,  but  there 
is  hardly  a  variety  grown  which  is  not  an  acquisition. 

Ricinus^  Castor-oil  bean. — These  plants,  of  several 
different  species,  give  grand  summer  effects.    The  vari- 


THE    INDISPENSABLE    ANNUALS.  1 37 

eties  with  dark  foliage  are  especially  beautiful.  Should 
be  started  early. 

Stocks. — Old  favorites,  but  neglected  in  late  years. 
Very  useful  in  the  border. 

Sunflowers. — Several  sorts,  all  useful  on  account 
of  the  emphasis  they  give  to  certain  points  in  the  border 
planting.    Plant  early. 

Sweet  Pea. — One  of  the  finest  plants  known  for 
cut  flowers  and  quite  indispensable,  but  not  well 
adapted  to  the  hardy  border.  They  are  usually  best  put 
by  themselves  where  they  may  have  a  trellis  and  good 
cultivation.  They  should  be  sown  in  the  open  ground 
at  the  earliest  possible  moment  in  the  spring,  or  may 
even  be  sown  in  the  fall.  The  selection  of  varieties  is 
wholly  a  matter  of  personal  taste.  There  are  several 
useful  little  manuals  which  the  sweet  pea  lover  should 
consult. 

Verbena. — The  low,  prostrate  habit  of  verbenas 
does  not  best  suit  them  to  mixed  plantings  in  the  nat- 
ural method.  A  few  of  them  may  be  used,  however,  in 
certain  parts  of  the  border,  especially  where  the  plant- 
ings come  directly  beside  a  footpath. 

Zinnias. — Well-known,  old-fashioned  flowers,  but 
useful  in  many  places.  The  newer  varieties  show  some 
fine  shades  of  color. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A  FEW   BULBOUS  PLANTS. 

No  garden  should  be  without  a  bed  of  bulbs.  Beginning  so 
early  in  the  season, — weeks  and  weeks  before  the  blooming 
period  of  the  earliest  annuals, — their  brilliant  and  beautiful  flow- 
ers are  enjoyed  more   than   those   of  summer. 

E.  E.  Rexford. 

Nothing  can  exceed  the  brilliancy  and  variety  of  color  dis- 
played by  their  flowers,  and  nothing  can  be  more  simple  than 
their  culture.  Mrs.  Loudon. 

Along  with  the  herbaceous  perennials  naturally 
come  the  hardy  and  half-hardy  bulbous  plants.  They 
have  in  general  the  same  requirements  and  the  same 
capabilities  as  the  herbaceous  perennials.  Many  of  them 
will  live  untended  in  the  open  border  quite  without  pro- 
tection, and  thrive  and  blossom  year  after  year.  Some 
require  winter  protection,  but  all  of  those  named  here 
will  last  without  replanting  for  several  or  many  years. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  few  or  none  of  these  plants 
are  desirable  for  their  foliage.  They  are  all  grown  for 
the  brilliancy  of  their  blossoms.  This  requires  that 
they  be  judiciously  set  to  show  against  shrubs  or  such 
other  foliage-covered  plants  as  shall  give  them  a  suit- 
able background.  This  is  seldom  taken  into  consider- 
ation. Lilies,  gladioli  and  irises  are  almost  always 
planted  by  themselves.  They  are  left  without  support. 
They  look  lost  and  out  of  place.  Anyone  can  see,  as 
soon  as  it  is  mentioned,  how  much  better  they  would 
look  comfortably  grouped  with  other  plants. 

The  following  list  includes  the  best  bulbous  plants, 
with  a  few  which  do  not  grow  from  the  bulbs,  but 
which,  in  view  of  the  use  we  make  of  them,  may  be 
best  understood  just  here. 

Crocuses. — Almost  the  first  flowers  of  spring,  and 
always    welcome    for   their    earliness    and    freshness. 


A   FEW    BULBOUS   PLANTS.  1 39 

Where  shrubs  and  herbaceous  plants  are  grown  in  an 
open  border,  crocuses  may  be  thickly  planted  in  nar- 
row rows  along  the  extreme  edge  next  the  grass.  One 
of  the  most  satisfactory  ways  to  grow  crocuses  is  to 
scatter  them  thickly  in  the  grass,  where  they  will  usu- 
ally come  up  every  spring  without  further  care. 

Dahlia. — The  dahlia  is  enjoying  just  now  a  well- 
deserved  renewal  of  public  favor.  Many  fine  new 
varieties  are  being  offered  by  the  dealers,  and  great 
satisfaction  is  to  be  got  out  of  their  culture.  The  cac- 
tus varieties  are  the  most  informal  and  appeal  more 
strongly  than  the  older  types  to  most  tastes;  but  the 
single  varieties  and  the  smaller  pompons,  as  well  as  the 
mammoth  blossoms  of  the  most  regular  outlines,  have 
all  their  various  agreeable  expressions. 

Erythronium,  Dog's-Tooth  violet. — These  little 
early  flowering  plants  are  very  delicate  and  beautiful. 
There  are  several  fine  species  and  varieties,  nearly  all 
of  which  are  hardy. 

Gladiolus. — The  gladiolus  is  one  of  the  most  strik- 
ing and  effective  flowers  in  the  garden  when  nicely 
grouped  with  other  plants.  When  put  by  itself  and 
with  no  company  but  an  unpainted  stick,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  awkward  and  ungainly  sights  on  the  lawn.  The 
gladioli  are  especially  useful  for  grouping  in  small 
masses  among  shrubs.  There  are  hundreds  of  fine 
varieties,  in  many  colors,  but  yellows  and  reds  are  best, 
especially  reds.  The  bright  reds  and  carmines  seem  to 
be  the  best  suited  to  the  character  of  the  plants. 

Iris. — There  are  some  fine,  hardy,  native  irises,  and 
a  great  many  hardy  and  tender  species  of  great  beauty 
from  all  over  the  world  which  may  be  grown  with  a 
little  care.  Among  the  best  are  /.  Siisiana  and  /.  Siher- 
ica.  The  many  varieties  of  German  iris  are  all  desira- 
ble and  the  Japan  irises,  /.  Kcempferi,  are  among  the 
most  gorgeous  flowers  ever  seen  in  temperate  climates. 

Lily. — The    noblest    of    flowering    plants.      Lilies 


140 


LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 


should  be  scattered  liberally  in  every  flower  border. 
They  harmonize  well  with  shrubs  and  herbaceous 
perennials,  and  the  annuals  may  be  mixed  with  them 
to  great  advantage.  The  following  are  a  few  of  the 
best  species  for  garden  culture:  L.  auratum,  Gold- 
banded  Japan  lily,  one  of  the  most  popular  and  mag- 
nificent; flowers  very  large,  white,  banded  with  gold 
and  spotted  with  red;  requires  replanting  from  time 
to  time.     L.  hulhiferum,  a  moderate  sized  European 


Fig.  34.     THE  SPRING  SHOW  OF  TULIPS. 


Species;  flowers  red.  L.  Browni,  one  of  the  finest, 
bears  three  to  four  flowers,  seven  to  eight  inches  long, 
chocolate  brown  outside,  pure  white  within.  L.  Cana- 
dense,  the  common  meadow  lily,  hardy,  abundant 
bloomer,  useful,  in  several  shades  of  red  and  yellow. 
L.  elegans,  a  very  showy  species,  with  large  flowers  in 
several  shades  of  red  and  orange.  L.  elegans  fulgens 
(Batemannice)  is  especially  showy  and  fine.  L.  Grayi, 
a  fine,  delicate,  native  species,  small  flowers,  red.  L. 
puherulum  (Hximholdti),  very  strong  and  handsome, 


A    FEW    BULBOUS    PLANTS.  I4I 

bears  large  orange-red  flowers.  L.  Hcnryi,  a  new  and 
rare  species,  but  one  of  the  most  magnificent;  should 
be  planted  by  everyone  who  can  afford  it ;  flowers  large, 
orange.  L.  Japonicum  Kramcri,  large  flowers  of  a 
very  deHcate  pink  tint,  quite  unique.  L.  longiflorum,  a 
fine,  large,  white  lily.  L.  candidum,  the  common  white 
lily,  nearly  hardy,  a  free  bloomer  and  very  attractive. 
L.  pardalinum,  flowers  orange,  with  lighter  center,  a 
good  sort.  L.  superbiim,  2.  strong  native  species,  bear- 
ing large  numbers  of  red  or  orange  blossoms.  L.  speci- 
osum,  one  of  the  very  best,  especially  the  variety 
riihrum.  L.  tenuifoUnm,  the  Coral  lily;  some- 
what dwarf,  with  many  brilliant,  coral-red  blossoms; 
very  desirable.  L.  tigrinum,  the  well-known  tiger  lily; 
good.  Most  of  these  are  better  if  covered  in  winter 
with  a  mulch. 

Narcissus. — This  genus  includes  several  plants  of 
great  usefulness  in  the  hardy  garden.  The  trumpet 
narcissi,  often  called  daffodils,  are  especially  fine,  either 
in  the  general  border  or  naturalized  in  the  grass.  Some 
of  the  best  sorts  for  outdoor  culture  are  Horsfieldi, 
Emperor,  Empress,  Bulbocodium,  Poet  narcissus, 
Trumpet  Major  and  Incomparabilis.  Narcissi  can  best 
be  transplanted  in  June  and  July. 

Tuberoses  may  be  planted  in  the  flower  garden  or 
border  with  considerable  satisfaction.  They  should  be 
set  in  fall  and  covered  with  a  mulch. 

Tulips  make  fine  displays  in  early  spring,  and  for  a 
week  the  open  bed  in  mid-lawn  is  almost  bearable,  so 
that  we  forget  the  manure  heap  which  has  been  there 
all  winter  and  the  inharmoniousness  of  the  plan  in  gen- 
eral. But  tulips  may  also  be  scattered  in  the  border 
with  other  plants,  or  even  set  into  the  turf.  There  are 
many  magnificent  species  and  varieties  listed  and  de- 
scribed in  all  catalogs. 

Yucca. — Nurserymen  usually  classify  the  yuccas 
with  the  bulbous  plants,  and  perhaps  they  are  as  much 


142 


LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 


at  home  here  as  anywhere.     They  must  be  used  with 
caution,    but    in    surroundings    somewhat   picturesque 


Fig.  35.     JAPANESE  IRISES  AT  HOME. 

they  may  be  introduced  with  fine  effect.  Yucca  fila- 
mentosa  is  the  species  most  generally  used,  but  Y. 
angustifolia  is  also  desirable. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CLIMBERS. 

I  love  these  immense  wreaths  of  vine  which  extend  far  and 
wide  in  rich  green  garlands,  and  which  become,  in  autumn,  of 
a  splendid  purple.  ...  At  the  extremity  of  my  garden  the  vine 
extends  in  long  porticoes,  through  the  arcades  of  which  may  be 
seen  trees  of  all  sorts  and  foliage  of  all  colors. 

Alphonse  Karr. 

As  found  growing  wild,  the  hard-wooded  climbers  and  trailers 
afford  some  of  the  most  delightful  bits  of  natural  scenery  to  be 
met  with.  Many  of  these  serve  valuable  purposes  for  embellish- 
ments in  ornamental  gardening.  E.  A.  Long. 

In  making  up  a  landscape  picture  proper,  climbers 
are  of  minor  importance.  Their  chief  use,  in  purely 
naturalistic  compositions,  is  not  for  climbing,  but  for 
trailing  over  rocks,  or  down,  sloping  banks,  or  for  clam- 
bering over -low  bushes.  In  such  situations  as  these 
the}^  are  very  effective. 

But  when  buildings  are  introduced,  and  fences  have 
to  be  dealt  with,  and  other  more  unsightly  objects  need 
amelioration  or  concealment,  the  climbers  are  indis- 
pensable. In  the  shading  and  adornment  of  porches 
they  play  no  insignificant  part  in  the  list  of  the  garden- 
er's materials. 

I  wish  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  no  climber  ought 
to  be  planted  on  level  ground  unless  there  be  first  some 
suitable  support  on  which  it  is  to  climb.  It  is  not  un- 
common to  find  cases  in  which  the  climber  was  first 
planted,  and  afterward  some  crazy  and  impertinent 
structure  was  arranged  to  meet  its  demands.  This  is 
one  of  the  ways  of  losing  naturalness,  along  with  all 
other  kinds  of  beauty. 

Wherever  a  permanent  planting  can  be  made,  peren- 
nial climbing  plants  will  usually  be  the  more  desirable. 
But  for  temporary  and  immediate  effects,  or  to  rein- 

143 


144  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

force  perennial  climbers  where  they  are  too  thin,  or 
for  window  boxes,  and  similar  purposes,  the  annual 
climbing  plants  are  of  great  value.  Some  species  of 
the  latter  may  be  started  early  in  the  house,  and  trans- 
planted out  of  doors  as  soon  as  frost  is  past,  so  as  to 
gain  an  earlier  effect.  The  following  brief  list  includes 
the  most  useful  sorts. 

HARDY    PERENNIAL    CLIMBERS. 

AcTiNiDiA. — White  flowers  with  purple  centers. 
Still  rare  in  this  country,  but  destined  to  be  popular. 

Akebia  ouinata. — A  dainty  little  climber  from 
Japan,  with  small,  five-parted  leaves.  Desirable  where 
a  large  quantity  of  foliage  is  not  required. 

Ampelopsis. — The  American  ivy,  Virginia  Creeper, 
or  Woodbine,  A.  quinquc folia,  is  one  of  the  common- 
est, best  and  most  widely  useful  of  all  climbers.  The 
Japanese,  or  Boston  ivy,  A.  Vcitchii,  is  excellent  for 
covering  stone  or  brick  walls,  particularly  the  latter. 

Aristolochia  Sipho,  Dutchman's  Pipe  Vine. — A 
very  hardy,  vigorous  climber,  with  large  leaves.  One 
of  the  best,  especially  in  the  northern  states. 

Celastrus  scandens^  Bittersweet. — One  of  the  very 
best  and  hardiest  climbers.  To  be  recommended  every- 
where. 

Clematis,  Virgin's  Bower. — Several  species  and 
horticultural  varieties  of  this  group  come  up  for  con- 
sideration wherever  climbers  are  wanted.  The  thrifty 
species  with  garlands  of  white  flowers, — C.  paniculata, 
C.  flammula,  C  Virginiaua,  C.  montana, — are  the  most 
useful.  C.  Jackmauii  is  always  a  favorite,  for  its  large 
blue  flowers,  though  it  has  nothing  else  to  recommend 
it.  Many  other  varieties  bearing  beautiful,  showy  flow- 
ers are  to  be  had  of  the  dealers. 

Lonicera,  Honeysuckle. — Hall's  honeysuckle,  with 
its  white  or  yellowish,  very  fragrant  flowers  is  a  favor- 


Cr.TMRERS.  145 

ite  plant,  especially  southward.  The  old-fashioned 
climbing  Trumpet  honeysuckle,  L.  scmpcrrireiis,  is 
very  useful  for  neglected  situations. 

Menispermi  M  Canadense,  Moon  Seed. — A  slender, 
twining  plant  which  makes  a  nice  addition  to  a  collec- 
tion. 

Tecoma,  Trumpet  Flower,  or  Trumpet  Creeper. — 
This  is  a  most  excellent  plant  where  a  somewhat  way- 
ward informality  of  habit  is  agreeable  to  the  surround- 
ings.   Deserves  more  general  use. 

Wistaria. — An  old-time  favorite.  Useful  in  many 
situations,  but  not  sufficiently  fresh  and  tidy  in  foliage 
to  come  under  constant  close  observation. 

ANNUAL    CLIMBERS. 

Balloon  Vine. — An  old-time  favorite,  to  be  found 
in  all  the  old-fashioned  gardens.  The  puffy,  inflated 
seed  vessels  w^hich  appear  throughout  the  summer 
are  the  most  striking  feature. 

EcHiNOCYSTis  LOBATA^  Climbing  Cucumber. — A 
rapid-growing,  luxuriant  climber  from  the  American 
woods,  covered  with  garlands  of  white  flowers 
throughout  the  season.  One  of  the  best  for  common 
planting. 

Hop  Vine. — One  of  the  most  rapid  growing  and 
useful  climbers.  It  is  one  of  the  best  annual  plants  for 
covering  verandas  or  other  large  areas.  The  "Varie- 
gated-leaved Japan  hop"  is  preferred  by  some,  though 
the  effect  is  not  always  good. 

Maurandya. — Rather  short  climbers  with  abundant 
white,  pink  or  violet-purple  blossoms.  Suited  to  more 
general  use. 

MiNA. — A  pretty  and  useful  plant  of  the  morning 
glory  family,  but  with  small  flowers  and  lobed  leaves. 

MoMORDiCA,  Balsam  Apple. — A  favorite  in  old- 
fashioned  gardens,  and  always  good. 


146  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

Morning  Glory,  Ipomoca. — This  glorious  and  old- 
fashioned  climber  has  been  too  much  neglected  by  mod- 
ern amateur  and  professional  gardeners.  There  are 
many  magnificent  new  varieties  now  on  the  market,  and 
they  are  so  useful  for  many  purposes  that  they  ought 
to  enjoy  a  new  lease  of  public  favor. 

Sweet  Pea. — The  sweet  pea  needs  no  introduction 
or  praise.  In  climbing  over  fences  and  low  trellises  it 
is  thoroughly  at  home,  while  no  known  plant  gives  a 
finer  harvest  of  flowers  suitable  for  cutting. 

Trop^olum,  Nasturtium. — The  climbing  nasturti- 
ums are  extra  fine  for  window  boxes,  lawn  vases,  and 
many  other  places.  It  is  worth  while,  in  planting  nas- 
turtiums, to  choose  the  best-bred  named  varieties.  The 
varieties  known  as  "Lobb's  nasturtiums"  and  the 
"Madame  Gunter  hybrids"  are  especially  thrifty  in 
growth  and  rich  in  gorgeous  colors. 


APPENDIX. 


SOME  BOOKS  ON  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

The  literature  of  landscape  gardening  is  not  exten- 
sive, but  choice.  Probably  the  best  things,  from  the 
literary  standpoint,  connected  with  agriculture,  horti- 
culture and  rural  affairs,  are  by  all  odds  the  books  and 
essays  which  deal  with  picture  gardening.  With  this 
literature  the  earnest  student  or  ambitious  practical  gar- 
dener will  naturally  wish  to  acquaint  himself.  For  this 
reason  there  are  here  given  a  few  references  to  the 
most  useful  and  accessible  works  on  the  subject.  The 
list  is  not  at  all  full.  Those  who  care  for  an  extended 
bibliography  of  the  subject  may  consult  Mrs.  Van 
Rensselaer's  admirable  book,  *'Art  Out  of  Doors,"  and 
also  Mr.  Henry  Sargent  Codman's  notes  in  Vol.  Ill 
(1890)  of  Garden  and  Forest. 

Many  of  the  best  short  essays  on  landscape  garden- 
ing subjects  are  to  be  found  in  the  volumes  of  our 
American  horticultural  journals.  The  old  volumes  of 
Downing's  Horticulturist,  of  Garden  and  Forest, 
American  Gardening  and  Country  Life  are  especially 
rich  in  matter  of  this  sort.  The  classical  essays  of 
Andrew  Jackson  Downing,  afterward  collected  and 
edited  by  George  William  Curtis  for  the  volume  of 
Rural  Essays,  appeared  first  as  editorials  in  the  Horti- 
culturist; and  the  editorials  of  Professor  Sargent  and 
Mr.  Stiles  in  Garden  and  Forest  have,  many  of  them, 
an  equal  permanent  literary  and  technical  value.  The 
man  or  woman  who  is  interested  in  following  out  the 
literature  of  gardening  must  not  forget  to  give  patient 
study  to  the  files  of  these  magazines. 

147 


148  LANDSCArE  GARDENING. 

For  the  student  or  reader  who  is  thoroughly  en- 
thused with  the  spirit  of  landscape  study,  and  espe- 
cially if  one  is  studying  the  suhject  for  the  sake  of  his 
own  personal  pleasure  in  it  rather  than  for  the  immedi- 
ate good  he  may  derive  in  planting  shrubs,  there  is 
another  considerable  field  of  literature  which  he  will  do 
wxll  to  explore  to  the  full  extent  of  his  opportunities. 
These  are  the  essays  and  books  which,  under  one  name 
and  another,  deal  with  the  beauties  of  rural  life  and  are 
filled  with  the  atmosphere  of  woods,  lakes  and  moun- 
tains. Merely  as  examples  of  such  we  may  remember 
John  Burroughs  (of  whose  books  Winter  Sunshine 
should  be  named  first  in  this  connection),  the  essays  of 
Donald  G.  Mitchell  (Ik.  Marvel),  the  diaries  of  Tho- 
reau,  and  Charles  Dudley  Warner's  Summer  in  a  Gar- 
den. It  would  have  been  a  pleasure  to  the  writer  to 
include  a  bibliography  of  these  books  in  this  chapter ; 
but  as  that  cannot  be  done,  the  reader  will  depend  on 
librarians  and  book  dealers  who  everywhere  know  and 
prize  these  books. 

In  the  following  much  abridged  list  of  books  on 
landscape  gardening  only  those  are  included  which  are 
of  the  most  direct  value  to  the  beginner.  By  the  time 
he  has  thoroughly  studied  these  his  horizon  will  have 
been  so  far  enlarged  that  he  can  select  his  reading  for 
himself  better  than  anyone  can  do  it  for  him. 

'    EUROPEAN  BOOKS. 

Amherst,  Alicia,  History  of  Gardening  in  Eng- 
land, London,  1885.  A  very  complete  and  satisfying 
treatise  on  the  subject. 

Andre,  Edouard,  L'Art  des  Jardins,  1879.^  The 
most  complete  and  thoroughly  useful  work  on  this  sub- 
ject in  any  language.     Finely  illustrated. 

Bacon,  Lord  Francis,  Of  Gardens,  in  his  essays, 
1625. 


APPENDIX.  149 

Gilpin,  William,  Observations  on  Picturesque 
Beauty,  1786.  Also,  Remarks  on  Forest  Scenery.  The 
latter  especially  is  worth  careful  reading. 

Jaeger,  H.,  Lehrbuch  der  Gartenkunst,  1877.  One 
of  the  best  German  works  on  the  subject.  Probably  the 
best  history  of  landscape  gardening  in  general  is  by 
the  same  author,  and  is  entitled  Gartenkunst  und  Gaer- 
ten,  Sonst  und  Jetzt.     1885. 

Loudon,  J.  C.,  Hints  on  the  Formation  of  Gardens 
and  Pleasure  Grounds,  1812. 

Price,  Sir  Uvedale,  An  Essay  on  the  Picturesque 
as  Compared  with  the  Sublime  and  the  Beautiful,  and 
on  the  Use  of  Studying  Pictures  for  the  Purpose  of 
Improving  Real  Landscape,  1794.  This  is  published  in 
many  editions.  The  best  one  {fide  Mrs.  Van  Rensse- 
laer) is  that  of  1842,  edited  by  Sir  Thomas  Dick 
Lauder. 

Repton,  Humphrey,  Observations  on  the  Theory 
and  Practice  of  Landscape  Gardening,  1793.  This  is 
the  most  valuable  of  early  works  on  the  practice  of 
landscape  gardening.  Its  instructions  are  still  of  great 
value. 

Robinson,  William,  The  English  Flower  Garden, 
1883.  There  are  several  editions  of  this  magnificent 
work.  The  later  ones  have  been  revised  by  the  author, 
and  a  great  deal  of  descriptive  and  illustrative  matter 
added.  Describes  and  illustrates  large  numbers  of 
plants.  A  valuable  book  of  reference.  The  same 
author  has  written  The  Parks,  Promenades  and  Gar- 
dens of  Paris,  1-869.  An  interesting  and  suggestive 
volume. 

Shenstone.  William,  Unconnected  Thoughts  on 
Gardening,  1764. 

Wheatley,  Thomas,  Observations  on  Modern  Gar- 
dening, 1770.  In  various  editions,  the  first  edition  be- 
ing published  anonymously.  This  is  one  of  the  best 
early  works  on  the  theory  of  landscape  gardening. 


150  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

AMERICAN    BOOKS. 

Bailey^  L.  H.,  Garden-Making,  New  York.  Con- 
tains some  useful  chapters  on  landscape  gardening. 
Also  a  later  work  by  the  same  author  entitled  Manual 
of  Gardening. 

Blanchan,  Neltje,  American  Gardens.  Large 
illustrated  work. 

Downing,  A.  J.,  A  Treatise  on  the  Theory  and 
Practice  of  Landscape  Gardening,  adapted  to  North 
America,  1841.  This  was  the  first  great  work  on  land- 
scape gardening  in  America,  and  one  which  will  always 
remain  a  classic.    There  are  many  editions. 

Howe,  Walter,  The  Garden,  as  Considered  in  Lit- 
erature by  Certain  Polite  Writers.  New  York,  1890. 
Contains  selections  from  Pliny  the  Elder,  Pliny  the 
Younger,  Lord  Bacon,  Sir  William  Temple,  Joseph 
Addison,  Alexander  Pope,  Lady  Montague,  Thomas 
Wheatley,  Oliver  Goldsmith,  Horace  Walpole  and 
John  Evelyn.    A  dainty  and  companionable  little  book. 

Kemp,  Edward,  Landscape  Gardening,  American 
edition  edited  by  F.  A.  Waugh. 

Long,  E.  A.,  Ornamental  Gardening  for  Americans, 
New  York,  1885.  An  excellent  treatise,  covering  espe- 
cially the  details  of  practice. 

Maynard,  S.  T.,  Landscape  Gardening  as  Applied 
to  Home  Decorations.    Illustrated,  New  York,  1899. 

Miller,  Wilhelm,  What  England  Can  Teach  Us 
about  Gardening. 

Parsons,  Samuel,  Jr.,  Landscape  Gardening,  1891. 
A  beautiful  book,  containing  much  practical  informa- 
tion, and  by  the  same  author.  How  to  Plant  the  Home 
Grounds.     Illustrated,  New  York,  1899. 

Platt,  Charles  A.,  Italian  Gardens,  New  York, 
1894.  Nicely  illustrated.  The  best  monograph  we 
have  of  the  Italian  style  in  Italy. 


APPENDIX. 


I=il 


KOSE,  N.  JoNSSON,  Lawns  and  Gardens.  Nicely 
illustrated.     New  York,  1897. 

Van  Rensselaer,  Mrs.  Schuyler,  Art  Out  of 
Doors,  New  York,  1893.  The  most  delightful  book  of 
all.  Deals  with  the  art,  not  with  the  practice,  of  gar- 
dening. 

Waugh,  F.  a.,  The  Landscape  Beautiful. 
^  Weidenmann,  J.,  Beautifying  Country  Homes,  New 
\ork,   1870.     A  very  handsome  royal  quarto  volume, 
1  lustrated  with  numerous  large  colored  plates  showing 
the  plans  of  places  already  improved. 


INDEX 


Page 

Aconitum      127 

Actinidia     144 

Ageratum    134 

Ailanthus    82 

Akebia  quinata 144 

Alder     117 

Alyssum    134 

Amalanchier     117 

American   Gardening    147 

Amherst,  Alicia,  book   148 

Amorpha     117 

Ampelopsis    144 

Andre,    Edouard,   book    148 

Andre,  Edouard,  quoted 41,64,89 

Anemone    127 

Annuals     131 

Annual    climbers    145 

Antirrhinum     134 

Appendix    147 

Aquilegia    127 

Aralia    117 

Arbor   day    99 

Architectural      features      in     gar- 
dening       38 

Architectural  style   27,  37 

Architecture,    rural     95 

Aristolochia    Sipho     144 

Art  and  artist   3 

Artificial    constructions    23 

Artistic      qualities      of      landscape 

composition    11 

Asclepias    127 

Ash    110 

Asters     127,  134 

Atmosphere    70 

Autumn    colors    57 

Bachelor's    Button 135 

Background      59 

Bacon,  Lord  Francis,  essay 148 

Bacon,    Francis,   quoted    55 

Badly  treated  plants    25 

Bailey,  L.  H.,  book   150 

Bailey,   L.    H.,   quoted    11,90 

Balloon   vine    145 

Balsam    134 

Balsam    apple    145 

Barberry     117 

Basswood   112 

Beech    110 

Biemueller,   J.,   quoted .  125 

Bifurcations   of   drives    and   walks  76 

Birch     110 

Blanchan,  Neltje,  book   150 

Bluebell    128 

Bocconia     127 


Page 

Boldness 34,  65 

Books  on  landscape  gardening...    147 

Borders     133 

Border   planting 126 

Broken  ground 47 

Broken  surface  42 

Brooks    87 

Bulbous   plants    138 

Burroughs,   John    148 

Butternut     110 

Button   bush    117 

Calendula     134 

Callirhoe     128 

Calycanthus    117 

Campanula     128 

Candytuft     135 

Caragana 117 

Care   of   grounds    69 

Cartolano,  F.,  quoted    46,64 

Castor-oil    bean    136 

Catalpa     110 

Cedar    110 

Celastrus    scandens    144 

Celosia     135 

Cemetery   gardening    65 

Centaurea     135 

Central    Park,  New  York    54 

Cephalanthus     117 

Cercis      ^..    118 

Character     64 

Cherries    121 

Chionanthus     118 

Choosing   a  style    31 

Chrysanthemum     128 

Cinquefoil    121 

City    lots    90 

Cleanliness    of   grounds    69 

Clematis     144 

Clethra     118 

Climbers     143 

Climbing    cucumber     145 

Clipped   trees 36 

Cockscomb     135 

Coffee   tree    82,  111 

Coherence    11 

Color 38,  43,  53,  56,  57,  1 15 

Columbine    127 

Concourses 76,  77 

Coreopsis 128 

Coreopsis,    annual    135 

Cornus    118 

Cosmos     135 

Crocus    138 

Curved  lines    17,  50 

Curves    76 


153 


154 


LANDSCAPE   GARDENING 


Page 

Cydonia    118 

Dahlia     139 

Daphne     118 

Datura    135 

Deformed  specimens   66 

Delphinium    128 

Deutzia 118 

Dianthus     135 

Diervilla     118 

Digitalis      128 

Dignity    65 

Distance    61 

Distance   between    trees    79 

Dog's-tooth   violet    139 

Dogwood     118 

Downing,  A.  J.,  books   150 

Downing,  A.  J.,  quoted. .  15,  78,  95,  99 
Downing's     idea    of    picturesque- 

ness     43 

Drives   73 

Dutchman's  Pipe  vine 144 

Echinocystis   lobata    145 

Elder     118,  119 

Elaeagnus    119 

Elm     Ill 

Elms   for  streets    36,81 

English    style    13 

Entrances     73 

Erythronium    139 

Exochorda 119 

Exterior   views    63 

Farmhouse 96 

Farmyards    95 

Fences    24,  98 

Finish    68 

Flagg,  Wilson  quoted 115 

Flower  beds    39,  133 

Foreground    62 

Forsythia    119 

Fountains   39 

Foxglove     128 

Fringe  tree    118 

Gaillardia     135 

Garden   and   Forest    147 

Gardener    6 

Gardener's    materials    107 

Gardening    3 

"Gay"   style  in  gardening   89 

General    problems    71 

Geometrical  lines   32 

Geometrical    style    27,93 

Gilpin,    William,    books    149 

Gilpin,  William,  quoted    41 

Ginkgo  trees   82,  111 

Gladiolus    139 

Golden-Bell     119 

Goldenrod    130 

Grace    34 

Grouped    trees    20 

Grouping    44,  59 

Guelder  rose   124 

Hackberry     Ill 

Hardy  perennials    98 

Harebell      128 

Hedges   24,91 

Helenium   128 


Page 

Helianthus   128 

Hercules  club   117 

Hollyhock     128 

Honey  locust Ill 

Honeysuckle    121 

Honeysuckle,    climbing    145 

Hop  vine    145 

Horse-chestnut    Ill 

Horticulturist     147 

Howe,   Walter,   book    150 

Hydrangea    120 

Hypericum     120 

Ipomoea   145 

Iris    139 

Italian    style    13,  27 

Ivy 144 

Jaeger,  H.,  books 149 

"Jimpson  Weed"    135 

Judas  tree   118 

June    55 

Juneberry   117 

Karr,    Alphonse,   quoted 143 

Kemp,   Edward,   book    150 

Kemp,  Edward,  quoted 68 

Kerria   120 

Koelreuteria     Ill 

Landscape  architect   6 

Landscape  gardener  6 

Landscape  gardening  3 

Larkspur     128 

Lawns 17,  34 

Lepachys     129 

Ligustrum     121 

Lilac    121 

Lily    139 

Linden     112 

Lines,   curved    17 

Long,  E.  A.,  book   150 

Long,  E.  A.,  quoted   143 

Lonicera   121 

Lonicera,  climbing    145 

Loudon,  J.  C.,  book   149 

Loudon,    Mrs.,   quoted    138 

Magnolias     112 

Maples    112 

Maple    for  streets    81 

Mathews,   F.  Schuyler,  quoted  46,  131 

Maurandia      145 

Maynard,  Samuel  T.,  book 150 

Menispermum    Canadense    145 

Middle-ground     61 

Midsummer  shade    57 

Miller,  Wilhelm,  book 150 

Mina    145 

Mitchell,   Donald   G 148 

Momordica  145 

Monkshood     127 

Monstrosities 66 

Moonseed     145 

Morning   Glory    145 

Mountain    scenery    42 

Mulberry     112 

Myrica     121 

Narcissus    141 

Nasturtium     135 

Nasturtium,  climbing 146 


INDEX 


IS5 


Page 

Naturalistic  gardening 95 

Naturalness,  to  gain    15 

Naturalness,  to  lose    21 

Natural  style   15 

New  England  village  streets 78 

Oak     112 

Oenothera    129 

Oleaster    119 

Olmsted,   F.    L.,   quoted    101 

Olmsted,  John   C,  quoted   83 

Orpet,   E.   O.,   quoted    131 

Palms   for  street   planting 80 

Pansy    136 

Papaver    129 

Park   management    103 

Park   planting    101 

Parks,    uses    of    101 

Parsons,  Samuel,  Jr.,  books 150 

Parsons,  Samuel,  Jr.,   quoted....  83 

Pattern   bedding    40,  105 

Paulownia    113 

Pea    tree    117 

Pentstemon    130 

Peony    130 

Perennials    125 

Perennial  climbers   143 

Petunia     136 

Philadelphus    121 

Phlox    130 

Phlox   Drummondii    136 

Picturesque    style     13,41 

Picturesque    trees    41 

Pine    113 

Pinks     135 

Ponds      85 

Poplar     113 

Poplars  on  streets   82 

Poppy   129 

Poppy,    annual    136 

Porches     143 

Potentilla    121 

Pot  Marigold 134 

Price,  Sir  Uvedale,  essay 149 

Privacy     91 

Privet    121 

Propriety    65 

Pruning    116 

Prunus    121 

Plane  tree    114 

Plans    12,93 

Piatt,   Charles   A.,  book 150 

Piatt,  Charles  A.,  quoted 27 

Plums   113,  121 

Quince    118 

Red  bud   118 

Repton,   Humphrey,  book 149 

Rexford,    E.   E.,   quoted    138 

Rhododendrons   122 

Rhus   122 

Ribes     122 

Ricinus    136 

Robinson,  William,  books   149 

Robinson,   William,   quoted    115 

Rockery    23 

Rose,  N.  Jonsson,  book   151 

Roses    122 


Page 

Rubus   123 

Rudbeckia    130 

Rural  gardening  95 

Rustic    work    74 

Sanitation,  mental    102 

Sargent,  C.  S.,  quoted   115 

School    grounds    99 

Shad  bush    117 

Shade  trees   96 

Shenstone,   William,   book    149 

Shrubs    18-20,  97,  100,  1 15 

Simplicity     34,  64,  65 

Single    trees    60 

Sky  line    44,52 

Sloping  ground 47 

Snapdragon    134 

Snowball     124 

Snowberry    123 

Solidago      130 

Specifications     12 

Spice    bush    117 

Spiraea     123,  130 

Spring  effects    56 

Spruce    113 

Stiles,  W.  A.,  quoted 101 

Stocks     137 

Straight   lines    21 

Street   planting    35 

Streets  and  avenues 78 

Styles  of  gardening   41 

Suburban   lots    90 

Sumach     122 

Summer  houses    24 

Sunflower     128 

Sunflowers,    annual    137 

Surface     42,  47 

Sweet  gale 121 

Sweet    gum    113 

Sweet   pea   137,  146 

Sycamore    114 

Sycamore   for   streets    82 

Symphoricarpus    123 

Syringa   121 

Tecoma     145 

Terraces    39 

Texture     53-55 

Thoreau    148 

Thorn    trees    114 

Topiary   work    38 

Trailing  vines   48 

Transplanting    annuals    133 

Trees     109 

Trees    analyzed     52 

Trees    for  shade    96 

Tree    rows     35 

Trellises      23 

Trianon,   Paris    86 

Trillium    130 

Tropaeolum    135 

Tropaeolum,  climbing   146 

Trumpet  creeper 145 

Tuberoses     141 

Tulips      141 

Tulip   tree    114 

Union  of  building  with  grounds..     21 
Unity    11,91 


156 


LANDSCAPE   GARDENING 


Page 

Van  Dyke,  John  C,  quoted 11 

Van   Rensselaer,  Mrs.,   book 151 

Van  Rensselaer,  Mrs.,  quoted.... 

3,  S3,  55,  73 

Variety    46 

Verbena    137 

Viburnum   124 

Virgin's   bower    144 

Vistas    51 

Walks    75 

Walnut    114 

Warner,   Charles   Dudley    148 

Water     48,  83 

Waugh,  F.  A.,  book    151 

Weather    80 


Page 

Weidenmann,  J.,  book    151 

Weigelia 118 

Wheatley,   Thomas,   book 149 

Wheatley,   Thomas,   quoted    41 

White   surfaces    25 

Willows     114,  123 

Winter  gardens   58 

Winter    picture    58 

Wistaria    145 

World's  Fair,  Chicago 29 

World's     Fair    grounds,    Chicago, 

14,37 

Yucca    141 

Zinnias    137 


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cation. 

First  Principles  of  Soil  Fertility 

By  Alfred  Vivian.  There  is  no  subject  of  more  vital 
importance  to  the  farmer  than  that  of  the  best  method 
of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  very  evident 
decrease  in  the  fertility  of  those  soils  which  have  been 
under  cultivation  for  a  number  of  years,  combined  with 
the  increased  competition  and  the  advanced  price  of  labor, 
have  convinced  the  intelligent  farmer  that  the  agriculture 
of  the  future  must  be  based  upon  more  rational  practices 
than  those  which  have  been  followed  in  the  past.  We 
have  felt  for  some  time  that  there  was  a  place  for  a 
brief,  and  at  the  same  time  comprehensive,  treatise  on 
this  important  subject  of  Soil  Fertility.  Professor  Vivian's 
experience  as  a  teacher  in  the  short  winter  courses  has 
admirably  fitted  him  to  present  this  matter  in  a  popular 
style.  In  this  little  book  he  has  given  the  gist  of  the 
subject  in  plain  language,  practically  devoid  of  technical 
and  scientific  terms.  It  is  pre-emviently  a  "First  Book," 
and  will  be  found  especially  valuable  to  those  who  desire 
an  introduction  to  the  subiect,  and  who  intend  to  do  subse- 
quent reading.     Ill  rostrated.    5x7  inches.    265  pages.     Cloth. 

Net,  $1.00 

The  Study  of  Corn 

By  Prof.  V.  M.  Shoesmith.  A  mjst  helpful  book  to  all 
farmers  and  students  interested  in  the  selection  and  im- 
provement of  corn.  It  is  profusely  illustrated  from  photo- 
graphs, all  of  which  carry  their  own  story  an*.'  contribute 
their  part  in  making  pictures  and  text  mattet  a  clear,  con- 
cise and  interesting  study  of  corn.  Illustrated.  5x7  inches. 
too  pages.     Cloth.     ......•-...-    Net,  $0.50 


Bean  Culture 

By  Glenn  C.  Sevey,  U.S.  A  practical  treat-aC  on  the  pro- 
duction and  marketing  of  beans.  It  includes  the  manner  of 
growth,  soils  and  fertilizers  adapted,  best  varieties,  seed  selec- 
tion and  breeding,  planting,  harvesting,  insects  and  fungous 
pests,  composition  and  feeding  value;  with  a  special  chapter 
on  markets  by  Albert  W.  Fulton.  A  practical  book  for  the 
grower  and  student  alike.  Illustrated.  144  pages.  5x7 
inches.     Cloth $0.50 

Celery  Culture 

By  W.  R.  Beattie,  A  practical  guide  for  beginners  and  a 
standard  reference  of  great  interest  to  persons  already  en- 
gaged in  celery  growing.  It  contains  many  illustrations  giving 
a  clear  conception  of  the  practical  side  of  celery  culture.  The 
work  is  complete  in  every  detail,  from  sowing  a  few  seeds  in 
a  window-box  in  the  house  for  early  plants,  to  the  handling 
and  marketing  of  celery  in  carload  lots.  Fully  illustrated. 
150  pages.    5x7  inches.     Cloth.     ......     $0.50 

Tomato  Culture 

By  Will  W.  Tracy.  The  author  has  rounded  up  in  this 
book  the  most  complete  account  of  tomato  culture  in  all  its 
phases  that  has  ever  been  gotten  together.  It  is  no  second- 
hand work  of  reference,  but  a  complete  story  of  the  practical 
experiences  of  the  best-posted  expert  on  tomatoes  in  the 
world.  No  gardener  or  farmer  can  afford  to  be  without  the 
book.  Whether  grown  for  home  use  or  commercial  purposes, 
the  reader  has  here  suggestions  and  information  nowhere  else 
available.    Illustrated.    150  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth.    $0.50 

The  Potato 

By  Samuel  Fraser.  This  book  is  destined  to  rank  as  a 
standard  work  upon  Potato  Culture.  While  the  practical  side 
has  been  emphasized,  the  scientific  part  has  not  been  neglected, 
and  the  information  given  is  of  value,  both  to  the  growej  and 
to  the  student.  Taken  all  in  all,  it  is  the  most  complete,  reliable 
and  authoritative  book  on  the  potato  ever  published  in  Amer- 
ica.   Illustrated.    200  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth.    .     .     $0.75 

Dwarf  Fruit  Trees 

By  F.  A.  Waugh.  This  interesting  book  describes  in  detail 
the  several  varieties  of  dwarf  fruit  trees,  their  propagation, 
planting,  pruning,  care  and  general  management.  Where 
there  is  a  limited  amount  of  ground  to  be  devoted  to  orchard 
jjurposes,  and  where  quick  results  are  desired,  this  book  will 
meet  with  a  warm  welcome.  Illustrated.  112  pages.  5x7 
inches.     Cloth.     ........  .     .      .      •     $0.50 


Cabbage,  Cauliflower  and  Allied  Vegetables 

By  C.  L.  Allen.  A  practical  treatise  on  the  vanoua 
types  and  varieties  of  cabbage,  cauliflower,  broccoli,  Brussels 
sprouts,  kale,  collards  and  kohl-rabi.  An  explanation  is  given 
of  the  requirements,  conditions,  cultivation  ahd  general  man- 
agement pertaining  to  the  entire  cabbage  group.  After  this 
each  class  is  treated  separately  and  in  detail.  The  chapter 
on  seed  raising  is  probably  the  most  authoritative  treatise  on 
this  subject  ever  published.  Insects  and  fungi  attacking  this 
class  of  vegetables  are  given  due  attention.  Illustrated.  126 
pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth $0.50 

Asparagus 

By  F.  M.  Hexamer.  This  is  the  first  book  published  in 
America  which  is  exclusively  devoted  to  the  raising  of  aspara- 
gus for  home  use  as  well  as  for  market.  It  is  a  practical 
and  reliable  treatise  on  the  saving  of  the  seed,  raising  of  the 
plants,  selection  and  preparation  of  the  soil,  planting,  cultiva- 
tion, manuring,  cutting,  bunching,  packing,  marketing,  canning 
and  drying,  insect  enemies,  fungous  diseases  and  every  re- 
quirement to  successful  asparagus  culture,  special  emphasis  be- 
ing given  to  the  importance  of  asparagus  as  a  farm  and  money 
crop.    Illustrated.     174  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth.     .     $0.50 


The  New  Onion  Culture 

By  T.  Greiner.  Rewritten,  greatly  enlarged  and  brought 
up  to  date.  A  new  method  of  growing  onions  of  largest  size 
and  yield,  on  less  land,  than  can  be  raised  by  the  old  plan. 
Thousands  of  farmers  and  gardeners  and  many  experiment 
stations  have  given  it  prac*^'.cal  trials  which  have  proved  a 
success.  A  complete  guidf  m  growing  onions  with  the  great- 
est profit,  explaining  the  whys  and  wherefores.  Illustrated. 
5x7  inches.     140  pages.     Cloth $0.50 


The  New  Rhubarb  Culture 

A  complete  guide  to  dark  forcing  and  field  culture.  Part 
I— -By  J.  E.  Morse,  the  well-known  Michigan  trucker  and 
originator  of  the  now  famous  and  extremely  profitable  new 
methods  of  dark  forcing  and  field  culture.  Part  II — Com- 
piled by  G.  B.  FiSKE.  Other  methods  practiced  by  the  most 
experienced  market  gardeners,  greenhouse  men  and  experi- 
menters in  all  parts  of  America.  Illustrated.  130  pages. 
5x7  inches.     Cloth ■ $0.50 

(7) 


Alfalfa 

By  F.  D.  CoBURN.  Its  growth,  uses,  and  feeding  value. 
The  fact  that  alfalfa  thrives  in  almost  any  soil;  that  without 
reseeding,  it  goes  on  yielding  two,  three,  four,  and  sometimes 
five  cuttings  annually  for  five,  ten,  or  perhaps  loo  years;  and 
that  either  green  or  cured  it  is  one  of  the  most  nutritious 
^orage  plants  known,  makes  reliable  information  upon  its  pro- 
duction and  uses  of  unusual  interest.  Such  information  is 
given  in  this  volume  for  every  part  of  America,  by  the  highest 
authority.    Illustrated.    164  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth.    $0.50 

Ginseng,    Its    Cultivation,    Harvesting,    Marketing 
and  Market  Value 

By  Maurice  G.  Kains,  with  a  short  account  of  its  history 
and  botany.  It  discusses  in  a  practical  way  how  to  begin  with 
either  seeds  or  roots,  soil,  climate  and  location,  preparation 
planting  and  maintenance  of  the  beds,  artificial  propagation, 
manures,  enemies,  selection  for  market  and  for  improvement, 
preparation  for  sale,  and  the  profits  that  may  be  expected. 
This  booklet  is  concisely  written,  well  and  profusely  illus- 
trated, and  should  be  in  the  hands  of  all  who  expect  to  grow 
this  drug  to  supply  the  export  trade,  and  to  add  a  new  and 
profitable  industry  to  their  farms  and  gardens,  without  inter- 
fering with  the  regular  work.  New  edition.  Revised  and  en- 
larged.    Illustrated.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $0.50 

Landscape  Gardening 

By  F.  A.  Waugh,  professor  of  horticulture,  university  of 
Vermont.  A  treatise  on  the  general  principles  governing 
outdoor  art ;  with  sundry  suggestions  for  their  application 
in  the  commoner  problems  of  gardening.  Every  paragraph  is 
short,  terse  and  to  the  point  giving  perfect  clearness  to  the 
discussions  at  all  points,  in  spite  of  the  natural  difficulty 
of  presenting  abstract  principles  the  whole  matter  is  made 
entirely  plain  even  to  the  inexperienced  reader.  Illustrated. 
152  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth i\et,  $0.75 

Hedges,  Windbreaks,  Shelters  and  Live  Fences 

By  E.  P.  Powell.  A  treatise  on  the  planting,  growth 
and  management  of  hedge  plants  for  country  and  suburban 
homes.  It  gives  accurate  directions  concerning  hedges ;  how 
to  plant  and  how  to  treat  them ;  and  especially  concerning 
windbreaks  and  shelters.  It  includes  the  whole  art  of  making 
a  delightful  home,  giving  directions  for  nooks  and  balconies, 
for  bird  culture  and  for  human  comfort.  Illustrated.  140 
pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth. $o."50 

(8) 


Bulbs  and  Tuberous-Rooted  Plants 

By  C.  L,  Allen;  A  complete  treatise  on  tne  history, 
description,  methods  of  propagation  and  full  directions  for 
the  successful  culture  of  bulbs  in  the  garden,  dwelling  and 
greenhouse.  The  author  of  this  book  has  for  many  years 
made  bulb  growing  a  specialty,  and  is  a  recognized  authority 
on  their  cultivation  and  management.  The  cultural  direc- 
tions are  plainly  stated,  practical  and  to  the  point.  The 
illustrations  which  embellish  this  work  have  been  drawn 
from  nature  and  have  been  engraved  especially  for  this 
book.    312  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth $150 

Fumigation  Methods 

By  Willis  G.  Johnson.  A  timely  up-to-date  book  on 
the  practical  application  of  the  new  methods  for  destroying 
insects  with  hydrocyanic  acid  gas  and  carbon  bisulphid,  the 
most  powerful  insecticides  ever  discovered.  It  is  an  indis- 
pensable book  for  farmers,  fruit  growers,  nurserymen, 
gardeners,  florists,  millers,  grain  dealers,  transportation  com- 
panies, college  and  experiment  station  workers,  etc.  Illus- 
trated.   313  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth $1.00 

Diseases  of  Swine 

By  Dr.  R,  A.  Craig,  Professor  of  Veterinary  Medicine  at 
the  Purdue  University.  A  concise,  practical  and  popular  guide 
to  the  prevention  and  treatment  of  the  diseases  of  swine.  With 
the  discussions  on  each  disease  are  given  its  causes,  symptoms, 
treatment  and  means  of  prevention.  Every  part  of  the  book 
impresses  the  reader  with  the  fact  that  its  writer  is  thor- 
oughly and  practically  familiar  with  all  the  details  upon  which 
he  treats.  All  technical  and  strictly  scientific  terms  are 
avoided,  so  far  as  feasible,  thus  making  the  work  at  once 
available  to  the  practical  stock  raiser  as  well  as  to  the  teacher 
and  student.    Illustrated.    5  x  7  inches.    IQO  pages.    Cloth.    $0.75 

Spraying  Crops — Why,  When  and  How 

By  Clarence  M.  Weed,  D.Sc.  The  present  fourth  edition 
has  been  rewritten  and  set  throughout  to  bring  it  thoroughly 
up  to  date,  so  that  it  embodies  the  latest  practical  information 
gleaned  by  fruit  growers  and  experiment  station  workers.  So 
much  new  information  has  come  to  light  since  the  third  edi- 
tion was  published  that  this  is  practically  a  new  book,  needed 
by  those  who  have  utilized  the  earlier  editions,  as  well  as  by 
fruit  growers  and  farmers  generally.  Illustrated.  136  pages. 
5.  X  7  inches.     Cloth.     .     .  $0.50 


Successful  Fruit  Culture 

By  Samuel  T.  Maynard.  .^  pu^ctical  guide  to  the  culti- 
vation and  propagation  of  Fruits,  written  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  practical  fruit  grower  who  is  striving  to  make  his 
business  profitable  by  growing  the  he^t  fruit  possible  and  at 
the  least  cost.  It  is  up-to-date  in  ev,-ry  particular,  and  covers 
the  entire  practice  of  fruit  culture,  harvesting,  storing,  mar- 
keting, forcing,  best  varieties,  etc.,  etc.  It  deals  with  principles 
first  and  with  the  practice  afterwards,  as  the  foundation,  prin- 
ciples of  plant  growth  and  nourishment  must  always  remain 
the  same,  while  practice  will  vary  according  to  the  fruit 
grower's  immediate  conditions  and  environments.  Illustrated. 
265  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $i.oc 

Plums  and  Plum  Culture 

By  F.  A,  Waugh.  A  complete  manual  for  fruit  growers, 
nurserymen,  farmers  and  gardeners,  on  all  known  varieties 
of  plums  and  their  successful  management.  This  book  marks 
an  epoch  in  the  horticultural  literature  of  America.  It  is  a 
complete  monograph  of  the  plums  cultivated  in  and  indigenous 
to  North  America.  It  will  be  found  indispensable  to  the 
scientist  seeking  the  most  recent  and  authoritative  informa- 
tion concerning  this  group,  to  the  nurseryman  who  wishes  to 
handle  his  varieties  accurately  and  intelligently,  and  to  the 
cultivator  who  would  like  to  grow  plums  successfully.  Illus- 
trated.   391  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth $150 

Fruit  Harvesting,  Storing,  Marketing 

By  F,  A.  Waugh.  A  practical  guide  to  the  picking,  stor- 
ing, shipping  and  marketing  of  fruit.  The  principal  subjects 
covered  are  the  fruit  market,  fruit  picking,  sorting  and  pack- 
ing, the  fruit  storage,  evaporation,  canning,  statistics  of  the 
fruit  trade,  fruit  package  laws,  commission  dealers  and  deal- 
ing, cold  storage,  etc.,  etc.  No  progressive  fruit  grower  can 
afford  to  be  without  this  most  valuable  book.  Illustrated. 
232  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $1.00 

Systematic  Pomology 

By  F.  A.  Waugh,  professor  of  horticulture  and  landscape 
gardening  in  the  Massachusetts  agricultural  college,  formerly 
of  the  university  of  Vermont.  This  is  the  first  book  in  the 
English  language  which  has  ever  made  the  attempt  at  a  com- 
plete and  comprehensive  treatment  of  systematic  pomology. 
It  presents  clearly  and  in  detail  the  whole  method  by  which 
fruits  are  studied.  The  book  is  suitably  illustrated.  288 
pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth $1.00 


Soils 

By  Charles  William  Burkett,  Director  Kansas  Agri- 
cultural Experiment  Station.  The  most  complete  and 
popular  work  of  the  kind  ever  published.  As  a  rule,  a 
book  of  this  sort  is  dry  and  uninteresting,  but  in  this  case 
it  reads  like  a  novel.  The  author  has  put  into  it  his  m- 
dividuality.  The  story  of  the  properties  of  the  soils,  their 
improvement  and  management,  as  well  as  a  discussion  of 
the  problems  of  crop  growing  and  crop  feeding,  make  this 
book  equally  valuable  to  the  farmer,  student  and  teacher. 
Illustrated.    303  pages.     5^x8  inches.    Cloth.     .     Net,  $1.25 

Weeds  of  the  Farm  Garden 

By  L.  H.  Pammel.  The  enormous  losses,  amounting 
to  several  hundred  million  dollars  annually  in  the  United 
States,  caused  by  weeds  stimulate  us  to  adopt  a  better 
system  of  agriculture.  The  weed  question  is,  therefore, 
a  most  important  and  vital  one  for  American  farmers. 
This  treatise  will  enable  the  farmer  to  treat  his  field  to 
remove  weeds.  The  book  is  profusely  illustrated  by  photo- 
graphs and  drawings  made  expressly  for  this  work,  and 
will  prove  invaluable  to  every  farmer,  land  owner,  gar- 
dener and  park  superintendent.  5x7  inches.  300  pages. 
Cloth Net,  $1.50 

Farm  Machinery  and  Farm  Motors 

By  J.  B.  Davidson  and  L.  W.  Chase,  Farm  Machinery 
and  Farm  Motors  is  the  first  American  book  published 
on  the  subject  of  Farm  Machinery  since  that  written  by 
J.  J.  Thomas  in  1867.  This  was  before  the  development 
of  many  of  the  more  important  farm  machines,  and  the 
general  application  of  power  to  the  work  of  the  farm. 
Modern  farm  machinery  is  indispensable  in  present-day 
farming  operations,  and  a  practical  book  like  Farm  Ma- 
chinery and  Farm  Motors  will  fill  a  much-felt  need.  The 
book  has  been  written  from  lectures  used  by  the  authors 
before  their  classes  for  several  years,  and  which  were  pre- 
pared from  practical  experience  and  a  thorough  review  of 
the  literature  pertaining  to  the  subject.  Although  written 
primarily  as  a  text-book,  it  is  equally  useful  for  the  prac- 
tical farmer.  Profusely  illustrated.  sy2^^  inches.  520 
pages.     Cloth Net,  $2.00 

The  Book  of  Wheat 

By  P.  T.  DoNDLiNGER.  This  book  comprises  a  complete 
study  of  everything  pertaining  to  wheat.  It  is  the  work 
of  a  student  of  economic  as  well  as  agricultural  condi- 
tions, well  fitted  by  the  broad  experience  in  both  practical 
and  theoretical  lines  to  tell  the  whole  story  in  a  condensed 
form.  It  is  designed  for  the  farmer,  the  teacher,  and  the 
student  as  well.  Illustrated.  5j^x8  inches.  370  pages. 
Cloth ,,,,...     Net,  $2.00 

(4) 


Greenhouse  Construction 

By  Prof.  L.  R.  Taft,  A  complete  treatise  on  greenhouse 
structures  and  arrangements  of  the  various  forms  and  styles 
of  plant  houses  for  professional  florists  as  well  as  amateurs. 
All  the  best  and  most  approved  structures  are  so  fully  and 
clearly  described  that  any  one  who  desires  to  build  a  green- 
house will  have  no  difficulty  in  determining  the  kind  best 
suited  to  his  purpose.  The  modern  and  most  successful  meth- 
ods of  heating  and  ventilating  are  fully  treated  upon.  Special 
chapters  are  devoted  to  houses  used  for  the  growing  of  one 
kind  of  plants  exclusively.  The  construction  of  hotbeds  and 
frames  receives  appropriate  attention.  Over  lOO  excellent 
illustrations,  especially  engraved  for  this  work,  make  every 
point  clear  to  the  reader  and  add  considerably  to  the  artistic 
appearance  of  the  book.  210  pages.  5x  7  inches.   Cloth.  $1.50 

Greenhouse  Management 

By  L.  R.  Taft.  This  book  forms  an  almost  indispensable 
companion  volume  to  Greenhouse  Construction.  In  it  the 
author  gives  the  results  of  his  many  years'  experience,  to- 
gether with  that  of  the  most  successful  florists  and  gardeners, 
in  the  management  of  growing  plants  under  glass.  So  minute 
and  practical  are  the  various  systems  and  methods  of  growing 
and  forcing  roses,  violets,  carnations,  and  all  the  most  impor- 
tant florists'  plants,  as  well  as  fruits  and  vegetables  described, 
that  by  a  careful  study  of  this  work  and  the  following  of  its 
teachings,  failure  is  almost  impossible.  Illustrated.  382  pages. 
5x7  inches.     Cloth $1.50 

Fungi  and  Fungicides 

By  Prof.  Clarence  M.  Weed.  A  practical  manual  con- 
cerning the  fungous  diseases  of  cultivated  plants  and  the 
means  of  preventing  their  ravages.  The  author  has  endeav- 
ored to  give  such  a  concise  account  of  the  most  important 
facts  relating  to  these  as  will  enable  the  cultivator  to  combat 
them  intelligently.  90  illustrations.  222  nages.  5x7  inches 
Paper,  50  cents;  cloth ,     ....     $1.00 

Mushrooms.     How  to  Grow  Them 

By  William  Falconer.  This  is  the  most  practical  work 
on  the  subject  ever  written,  and  the  only  book  on  growing 
mushrooms  published  in  America.  The  author  describes  how 
he  grows  mushrooms,  and  how  they  are  grown  for  profit  by 
the  leading  market  gardeners,  and  for  home  use  by  the  most 
successful  private  growers.  Cngravings  drawn  from  nature 
expressly  for  this  work.  170  pages.  5  x  7  inches.  Cloth.  $1.00 
(16) 

D,  H,  HILL  LIBRARY 
North  Cc-olinn  Ctztzi  College 


iECKMAN 

ilNDERY  INC. 

«,MAY   89 


